V 


NOV  25  19in 


^^^^^OGICAL?,' 


The  University  of  Chicago  Publications 
IN  Religious  Education 


EDITED    BY 

ERNEST  D.  BURTON  SHAILER  MATHEWS 

THEODORA  G.  SCARES 


HANDBOOKS  OF  ETHICS  AND  RELIGION 


THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OP  CHICAGO  PRESS 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


THE  BAKER  &  TAYLOR  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK 

THE  CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

LONDON   AND  EDINBUEOH 

THE  MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA 

TOKYO,    OSAKA,    KYOTO,    FUKUOKA,   SENDAI 

THE  MISSION  BOOK  COMPANY 


19I« 


^^i?;:?ALS^'^ 


THE  LIFE  OF  PA 


By 

Benjamin  Willard   Robinson,   Ph.D. 

Professor  of  New  Testament  Literature  and  Interpretation 
in  the  CAicag*  Theological  Seminary 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  PRESS 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


Copyright  1918  By 
The  University  of  Chicago 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Published  October  1918 


Composed  and  Printed  By 

The  University  of  Chicas^o  Press 

Chicago,  Illinois,  U.S.A. 


TO 

Ernest  DeWitt  Burton 


8ti   fi€   iiralSevaas    koXwj,    Kal   iK   roirov  iXnl^u  Tax^ 
■n-poKdaai. — Soldier's  Letter,  Milligan,  Greek  Papyri,  36 


PREFACE 

The  sources  of  knowledge  of  Paul's  life  are  practically 
all  contained  in  one  volume,  the  New  Testament.  The 
source  method  of  studying  history  can  here  be  used  with 
especial  fitness.  Modern  scholarship  has  contributed 
much  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  New  Testament. 
The  purpose  of  this  handbook  is  to  serve  as  a  guide  in  so 
reading  the  ancient  in  the  light  of  the  modern  that  the 
student  will  be  able  to  derive  a  clear  and  accurate  con- 
ception of  the  apostle  and  his  achievements. 

He  is  advised  first  to  read  the  New  Testament  refer- 
ences upon  each  stage  of  Paul's  career,  then  to  read  the 
pages  of  this  volume  which  supplement  the  references, 
and  finally  to  study  the  references  again  with  careful 
application  of  the  textbook  comments.  He  will  do  well 
at  the  same  time  to  free  his  mind  of  rumors  and  notions 
concerning  Paul  and  to  think  of  him  in  his  place  among 
the  leaders  of  history  as  a  man  of  action  with  an  inter- 
national purpose  to  which  he  bent  every  energy  of  his 
powerful  personaHty. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  instructor  who  uses  the  book  will 
recognize  the  importance  of  regular  assignments  of 
"supplementary  reading"  with  each  chapter  as  well  as 
the  importance  of  having  at  hand  a  carefully  selected 
reference  library,  such  as  is  suggested  in  Appendix  II. 
It  is  very  desirable  also  that  he  find  place  for  the  discus- 
sion of  certain  subjects  treated  very  briefly  or  not  at 
all  in  the  text,  such  subjects  as  are  listed  in  Appendix  III. 
Finally,  he  should  use  some  method  of  conserving  the 


X  .    PREFACE 

student's  reading  and  study,  such  as  the  outline   life 
of  Paul  suggested  in  Appendix  IV. 

My  indebtedness  to  the  labors  of  others  who  have 
worked  in  this  field  will  be  apparent  on  every  page.  But 
I  wish  to  express  a  sense  of  even  greater  obligation  to 
those  who  have  given  so  generously  of  their  personal 
counsel  and  instruction,  and  particularly  to  the  editors 
of  this  series,  whose  fellowship  has  been  a  constant  and 
inspiring  help. 

Benjamin  Willard  Robinson 

Chicago  Theological  Seminary 
September,  1918 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introductory  Note i 

The  Sources 

CHAPTER 

I,  Mediterranean  Life  in  Paul's  Day       .     .     i     .  5 

1.  The  Mediterranean  World S 

2.  The  Jews  of  Palestine 6 

3.  The  Jewish  Dispersion 9 

4.  PoKtical  and  Social  Conditions  in  the  Empire  .      .  12 

5.  Philosophies  and  Mystery-Religions       ....  16 

6.  Emperor- Worship 19 

7.  "TheFiOnessof  Time" 21 

II.  Paul's  Youth 25 

1.  Boyhood  at  Tarsus 25 

2.  Training  at  Jerusalem 29 

3.  Jewish  Law  as  a  Schoolmaster    ......  32 

4.  Paul's  Personal  Traits "^     .     .  37 

III,  The  Call  to  Service  among  the  Nations   .  "^  .     .  43 

1.  The  Preparation 43 

2.  The  Vision 50 

3.  The  Significance  of  the  Vision 54 

IV.  Years  or  Adjustment 59 

1.  In  Damascus  and  Arabia 59 

2.  In  Jerusalem  and  Syria  and  Cilicia 61 

3.  At  Antioch ^     ■  65 

4.  ReUeving  the  Famine  at  Jerusalem  .     .  y'^  .     .  70 

V.  A  Campaign  with  Barnabas 74 

1.  Paul's  Plan  of  Advance 74 

2.  On  the  Island  of  Cjq^rus 76 

3.  At  Antioch  of  Pisidia 79 

4.  At  Iconium 83 

5.  At  Lystra  and  Derbe 85 


xii  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VI.  Emancipating  the  Gospel  from  Jewish  Legalism  93 

1.  The  Jewish- Christian  Legalists 93 

2.  Paul's  Account  of  the  Conference 96 

3.  The  Acts  Account  of  the  Conference     ....  98 

4.  Peter's  Visit  to  Antioch 102 

VII.  "  Come  Over  into  Macedonia  " 11 1 

1.  Revisiting  the  Churches m 

2.  At  Philippi 117 

3.  At  Thessalonica 123 

4.  At  Beroea 127 

VIII.  At  Athens  and  Corinth 129 

1.  At  Athens 129 

2.  A  Year  and  a  Half  at  Corinth 133 

3.  Two  Letters  to  the  Thessalonians 140 

4.  Brief  Visit  to  Ephesus 143 

5.  The  Letter  to  the  Galatians 144 

IX.  At  Ephesus 149 

1.  Arrival  at  Ephesus 149 

2.  Disciples  of  John  the  Baptist 152 

3.  Three  Years  of  Activity 155 

4.  Departure  from  Ephesus 161 

X.  From  Ephesus  to  Corinth 164 

1.  Paul's  Correspondence  with  Corinth      ....  164 

2.  Through  Macedonia  to  Corinth 175 

3.  The  Epistle  to  the  Romans 177 

4.  From  Corinth  to  Jerusalem 181 

XL  Arrest  and  Appeal 186 

1.  Arrest  at  Jerusalem 186 

2.  Two  Years  at  Caesarea 193 

3.  Appeal  to  the  Emperor 196 

4.  The  Voyage  and  Shipwreck .  199 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XII.  At  Rome 202 

1.  Two  Years  in  Rome 202 

2.  The  Letter  to  the  PhUippians 204 

3.  Letters  to  Philemon,  to  the  Colossians,  and  to  the 
Ephesians 206 

4.  The  End  of  the  Fight ...  213 

5.  Paul's  Place  in  Christianity 216 

Appendix  I 221 

Appendix  II 223 

Appendix  III 226 

Appendix  IV 229 

Indexes 237 

Index  of  Subjects 237 

Index  of  Scripture  References 243 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 
THE  SOURCES 

The  two  main  sources  of  information  concerning  the 
Hfe  of  Paul  are  the  collection  of  his  extant  letters  and 
the  Book  of  Acts,  Epistles  are  first-hand  direct  evi- 
dence. There  are  ten  of  these  which  fall  within  the 
period  of  the  apostle's  life  which  can  be  reconstructed 
with  considerable  certainty.  The  Pastoral  Epistles 
constitute  a  study  by  themselves.  Of  the  ten  letters 
there  are  three  which  present  certain  problems  of  author- 
ship, II  Thessalonians,  Colossians,  and  Ephesians. 
While  there  has  been  little  general  questioning  of  the 
genuineness  of  these,  it  is  best  to  distinguish  mentally 
between  them  and  the  others.  Seven  epistles  are  espe- 
cially clear  in  their  reflection  of  the  circumstances  and 
occasion  of  writing  and  in  the  information  they  inci- 
dentally afford  concerning  many  other  events  in  Paul's 
career.  These  seven  are  I  Thessalonians,  Galatians,  I 
and  II  Corinthians,  Romans,  Philippians,  and  Philemon. 
These  with  the  tentative  inclusion  of  the  other  three 
mentioned  above  constitute  our  primary  source. 

The  second  source  is  the  Book  of  Acts.  Scholarship 
has  much  to  say  in  favor  of  the  general  trustworthiness 
of  that  account.  Luke,  the  "beloved  physician,"  the 
author  of  the  Gospel  of  Luke,  wrote  the  Acts  as  a  com- 
panion work  to  his  Gospel.  Both  were  probably  written 
about  the  year  80.  As  in  the  Gospel  Luke  used  Mark 
and  other  sources,  so  in  Acts  he  undoubtedly  employed 
earlier  reports.     In  the  first  twelve  or  perhaps  fifteen 

I 

i 


2  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

chapters  his  main  source  was  apparently  a  Jewish  docu- 
ment written  in  Aramaic  with  many  Old  Testament 
quotations.  In  the  latter  half  of  the  book,  from  15:36 
to  the  end,  he  was  writing  of  events  from  which  he  was 
himself  not  far  removed. 

In  this  latter  half  of  the  book  there  are  four  passages 
written  in  the  first  person  which  are  known  as  the  "we" 
sections.  They  have  been  the  subject  of  much  study 
and  appear  to  be  excerpts  from  a  diary  kept  by  a  com- 
panion of  Paul.  They  describe  portions  of  the  second 
and  third  journeys  and  the  final  voyage  to  Rome;  these 
passages  are  16:10-17;  20:5-15;  21:1-18;  27:1 — 28:16. 
Minute  study  of  linguistic  characteristics  of  these  ex- 
cerpts has  shown  that  the  author  of  the  diary  was  the 
same  one  who  wrote  the  Book  of  Acts  as  a  whole.  The 
conclusion  is  that  Luke  himself  was  with  Paul  on  these 
occasions,  and  that  later  in  writing  the  record  of  these 
events  he  referred  not  only  to  his  own  memory  but 
probably  also  to  an  original  notebook  which  he  had  kept. 
Luke  may  have  been  with  Paul  at  some  other  points  also 
where  the  narrative  by  use  of  the  third  person  leaves  the 
author  in  the  background. 

In  writing  his  book  Luke  had  a  large  purpose  in  mind. 
His  was  the  first  history  of  Christian  missions.  Churches 
in  Ephesus  and  Corinth  and  other  cities  in  the  year  80 
had  Httle  idea  of  how  the  gospel  had  reached  them,  of 
their  relation  to  other  Christian  groups  throughout  the 
empire,  or  of  what  hardships  Paul  and  others  had  suf- 
fered that  the  gospel  might  be  brought  to  them.  Luke's 
purpose  was  to  give  a  panoramic  view  of  the  growth  and 
advance  of  Christianity  from  the  little  circle  in  Jeru- 
salem to  the  climax  in  Paul's  residence  in  Rome,  the 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE  3 

capital  of  the  world.  He  wished  at  the  same  time  to 
inspire  his  readers  with  a  faith  and  a  courage  which  were 
worthy  of  those  who  had  gone  before. 

In  following  out  this  large  purpose  he  naturally 
omitted  many  things,  greatly  abbreviated  others,  and, 
in  cases  where  his  sources  were  fragmentary,  filled  in  the 
gaps  with  the  best  information  available.  The  speeches 
recorded  illustrate  his  method.  Addresses  which  would 
naturally  occupy  half  an  hour  or  an  hour  he  has  con- 
densed into  words  which  can  be  read  in  two  or  three 
minutes.  Undoubtedly,  too,  there  were  occasions  on 
which  important  and  effective  words  were  said  of  which 
he  had  no  definite  record.  In  such  a  case  he  would 
necessarily  use  his  own  best  judgment  in  a  statement  of 
the  gist  of  the  address.  In  less  than  thirty  chapters  he 
covered  more  than  thirty  years  of  the  expansion  of  early 
Christianity.  Merely  as  history  the  book  can  rank  with 
the  work  of  Josephus  and  other  great  historians  of  an- 
tiquity. But  it  was  written  from  quite  a  different  point 
of  view.  Its  purpose  was  not  to  recount  the  conquests 
of  kings,  to  record  battles  and  dates  and  treaties,  but 
rather  to  portray  the  advance  of  a  new  force  among  the 
people,  a  force  which  bade  fair  to  change  the  whole  aspect 
of  the  Hfe  of  the  age. 

In  combining  the  facts  reflected  in  Paul's  letters 
with  the  information  given  in  the  Book  of  Acts  our 
procedure  will  naturally  be,  first,  to  gather  from  the 
epistles  all  statements  relative  to  the  subject  in  hand, 
secondly,  to  add  to  these  such  details  from  the  Book  of 
Acts  as  fit  readily  and  properly  into  the  facts  of  the 
epistles.  Where  there  appears  any  difference  in  narra- 
tive or  point  of  view  Paul's  own  words  must  be  taken 


4  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

as  our  first  guide,  and  Luke's  words  will  be  interpreted 
in  the  light  of  his  remoter  situation  and  of  his  particu- 
lar purpose  in  writing.  Thirdly,  where  Paul  gives  us 
no  information  and  Luke  is  our  only  guide  we  shall  fol- 
low him  with  no  little  confidence,  always  remembering 
that  he  may  often  be  using  an  earlier  written  account 
and  that  in  four  sections  at  least  he  probably  is  using  a 
diary  kept  at  the  time  of  the  events  themselves. 


CHAPTER  I 
MEDITERRANEAN  LIFE  IN  PAUL'S  DAY 

1.  The  Mediterranean  World 

2.  The  Jews  of  Palestine 

3.  The  Jewish  Dispersion 

4.  PoUtical  and  Social  Conditions  in  the  Empire 

5.  Philosophies  and  Mystery-Religions 

6.  Emperor- Worship 

7.  "The  Fulness  of  Time" 

In  connection  with  this  chapter  it  is  recommended  that  in 
place  of  a  study  of  New  Testament  references  an  especially  wide 
use  be  made  of  the  supplementary  readings  given  at  the  end  of 
the  chapter. 

I.   THE   MEDITERRANEAN   WORLD 

Paul's  life  was  spent  in  the  lands  bordering  upon  the 
Mediterranean  Sea.  His  travels  and  his  achievements 
were  mainly  along  its  irregular  shores.  The  direct 
distance  from  Palestine  at  the  eastern  end  to  Spain,  the 
western  limit,  is  approximately  2,300  miles.  The  coast 
line,  however,  including  the  islands,  measures  over 
10,000  miles.  The  orange,  the  fig,  and  the  olive  tree, 
found  throughout  its  length,  indicate  the  mildness  and 
general  uniformity  of  the  cHmate. 

The  first  decisive  step  toward  unification  of  this  world 
of  the  Mediterranean  was  taken  by  Alexander  the  Great. 
He  was  the  pioneer  in  successfully  mingling  the  western 
and  eastern  civilizations.  Had  it  not  been  for  his  inter- 
weaving of  Greeks  and  Semites  it  would  have  been  quite 

5 


6  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

impossible  for  any  enterprise  to  spread  from  Palestine  to 
the  west  with  such  rapidity  as  characterized  the  Chris- 
tian missionary  accomplishments  of  the  first  century. 

In  fact  Christianity's  line  of  march  westward  was 
strikingly  close  to  Alexander's  route  eastward.  Alex- 
ander "came  over"  from  Macedonia  to  Asia.  Proceed- 
ing through  Mysia  he  crossed  the  Taurus  Mountains  at 
the  Cihcian  Gates  and  fought  his  most  decisive  battle 
near  Antioch  (Issus,  333  b.c).  He  spent  a  long  while 
at  Tyre  and  Gaza.  He  paid  great  respect  to  the  Temple 
at  Jerusalem.  Christianity  in  its  march  in  the  opposite 
direction  advanced  from  Jerusalem  to  Gaza,  to  Tyre,  all 
along  the  coast.  At  Antioch  the  disciples  were  first 
called  Christians.  From  Antioch  as  a  center  Paul 
started  out  upon  his  great  European  trip,  crossing  the 
mountains  at  the  Cihcian  Gates,  passing  by  Mysia 
through  Asia,  and  came  over  into  Macedonia.  Alexan- 
der had  paved  the  road  along  which  Paul  advanced  in 
his  gospel  campaign  westward. 

The  composite  civilization  which  resulted  from  Alex- 
ander's conquests  was  not  Greek  in  the  strict  sense  of 
the  word.  The  new  culture  was  modified  by  contact 
with  many  different  nationalities.  But  since  it  arose  in 
direct  connection  with  the  extension  of  Greek  ideas  and 
customs,  and  of  a  universalized  form  of  the  Greek  lan- 
guage, it  has  been  called  the  Hellenistic  civilization.  In 
this  Hellenistic  world  the  Jews  both  of  Palestine  and  of 
the  Dispersion  constituted  an  important  factor. 

2.    THE   JEWS    OF   PALESTINE 

The  eastward  march  of  the  Greek  culture  had  a  far- 
reaching  influence  on  the  history  and  ideas  of  the  Jews. 


MEDITERRANEAN  LIFE  IN  PAUL'S  DAY  7 

Palestine  was  the  only  land  route  for  communication 
between  Syria  and  Egypt,  between  Asia  and  Africa.  In 
the  international  intercourse  which  Alexander  aroused, 
the  Jews,  who  had  always  considered  themselves  a  people 
set  apart  and  holy,  found  themselves  as  never  before  in 
the  channel  of  commerce  and  military  campaign.  Hel- 
lenistic culture  was  gradually,  irresistibly  permeating 
the  Holy  Land.  Greek  cities  were  springing  up  which 
later  combined  themselves  in  the  very  midst  of  Judaism 
into  the  league  called  the  Decapolis. 

During  the  last  two  centuries  before  Christ  the  Jews 
were  almost  continually  engaged  in  long  struggles  against 
encroaching  Hellenism.  So  long  as  they  were  fighting 
for  religious  liberty  and  spiritual  ideals  they  were  repeat- 
edly successful,  even  against  great  odds.  They  were 
able  to  avenge  themselves  when  a  Syrian  king  dese- 
crated the  Temple.  They  were  able  to  win  the  privilege 
of  minting  their  own  imageless  coins.  They  again  and 
again  established  their  right  to  worship  Jehovah  in  their 
own  way.  Often  political  power  and  even  considerable 
miHtary  conquest  seemed  just  within  their  reach.  But, 
like  Tantalus,  they  never  quite  succeeded  in  grasping 
and  holding  in  any  satisfying  way  the  object  of  their 
desire.  It  was  with  their  life-blood  that  they  paid  the 
price  of  such  territorial  and  imperial  aspirations.  Yet 
as  armies  marched  back  and  forth,  as  Greek  cities  sprang 
up  in  their  midst,  as  the  Greek  language  and  Roman 
power  became  facts  of  their  daily  life,  they  felt  more  than 
ever  that  as  God's  chosen  people  they  had  been  chosen 
for  some  sort  of  a  mission  among  the  nations  of  the  world. 
This  world-mission  they  began  to  realize  must  be  a  reli- 
gious, not  a  political,^one. 


8  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

They  turned  their  attention  increasingly  to  the  care- 
ful study  and  explanation  of  their  scriptures  and  to  the 
making  of  converts.  Their  ideal  was  first  to  perfect  their 
system  of  worship  and  secondly  to  make  Jerusalem  the 
Mecca  of  the  world.  They  became  less  military,  more 
religious,  less  nationalistic,  more  evangelistic.  In  their 
deeper  searching  after  God's  will  the  Jewish  leaders 
thought  to  find  it  in  a  more  exact  keeping  of  the  letter  of 
the  law.  The  result  was  the  elaborate  ceremonial  sys- 
tem of  the  Pharisees.  Though  not  always  observed 
with  inner  sincerity  of  heart,  it  was  intended  as  an  expres- 
sion of  increased  loyalty  to  their  God  in  the  face  of  the 
great  new  civilization  which  was  approaching. 

In  all  their  experiences  was  the  hope  and  confidence 
that  God  would  some  day  consummate  in  divine  fashion 
all  their  ideals.  Oppression  and  wickedness  would  be 
destroyed.  The  Jews  would  be  freed  and  exalted. 
Usually,  but  not  universally,  they  expected  that  the  con- 
summation would  be  brought  about  by  a  mighty  leader 
whom  Jehovah  would  "anoint"  for  the  task. 

The  "Messiah,"  i.e.,  the  "anointed  one,"  was  pic- 
tured in  many  ways.  Popularly  he  was  conceived  as  a 
heavenly  being  whom  God  would  send  down  to  earth 
with  miraculous  power  to  establish  social  justice.  In 
that  new  day  each  Jew  would  be  able  to  sit  under  his 
own  vine  and  fig  tree,  and  there  would  be  none  to  make 
afraid.  Among  religious  leaders  and  among  thought- 
ful Jews  generally  there  was  considerable  emphasis  upon 
uprightness  of  conduct  as  the  principal  condition  of 
entrance  into  that  new  kingdom.  And  the  Messiah  was 
pictured  as  a  great  prophet  whom  Jehovah  would  endow 
with  wisdom  and  with  the  spirit.     He  would  teach  all 


MEDITERRANEAN  LIFE  IN  PAUL'S  DAY  9 

men  Jehovah's  greatness  and  goodness.  Only  the  utterly 
godless  would  be  rejected.  Upon  all  who  would  accept 
it  the  spirit  would  be  poured  out  from  on  high.  Men 
would  be  endowed  with  a  capacity  and  a  desire  for  purity 
and  brotherhood. 

Many  of  these  tendencies  of  late  Judaism  were  found 
in  a  Christianized  form  in  the  early  church.  The  intense 
devotion  to  God's  will  accompanied  by  a  turning  away 
from  present  political  and -economic  problems,  the  in- 
creased acquaintance  with  other  nations,  the  proselyting 
activity,  the  emphasis  upon  righteousness  rather  than 
literal  Abrahamic  descent  as  the  basis  of  acceptability 
before  God,  the  expectation  of  a  messianic  kingdom  soon 
to  appear — all  these  it  is  essential  to  keep  in  mind  in  any 
study  of  early  Christianity  in  relation  to  contemporary 
Jewish  thought. 

3.   THE  JEWISH  DISPERSION 

During  the  third  century  B.C.,  when  Egypt  con- 
trolled Palestine,  Jews  migrated  in  large  numbers  to 
Alexandria,  so  named  after  Alexander  the  Great.  There 
they  formed  a  considerable  colony  in  the  city,  adopted 
the  Greek  language,  and  translated  the  Old  Testament  £^ 
into  Greek.  In  the  second  century  B.C.,  when  Syrian 
power  became  dominant  in  Palestine,  the  Jews  migrated 
northward  and  settled  in  large  numbers  around  Antioch. 
They  went  farther  into  Cilicia,  following  the  line  of 
march  of  Alexander  over  into  the  cities  of  Asia  Minor, 
Macedonia,  and  Greece.  After  Pompey  and  the  Roman 
armies  conquered  Palestine  in  the  first  century  B.C.  the 
dispersion  of  the  Jews  gradually  reached  to  the  ends  of 
the  Roman  Empire. 


lO  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

As  a  result  of  this  dispersion  Paul  found  his  fellow- 
countrymen  in  almost  every  city  he  wished  to  visit. 
There  are  definite  traces  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  such 
Jewish  communities.  It  would  be  hard  to  overestimate 
the  importance  of  these  little  groups  throughout  the 
empire  as  a  series  of  advanced  posts  from  which  the 
gospel  could  be  preached. 

The  simplicity  and  modesty  of  the  little  Jewish  syna- 
gogue would  be  very  striking  to  one  who  walked  along 
the  streets  of  an  ancient  city.  The  fact  that  there  was 
no  altar  would  impress  him  at  once.  The  worshiper  who 
was  seeking  communion  with  the  eternal  God  was  becom- 
ing skeptical  about  bowing  down  to  beautifully  carved 
images  and  statues.  Each  Sabbath  the  Jews  assembled 
to  pray  to  the  unseen  God  and  to  listen  to  his  revelation 
as  contained  in  the  Prophets.  A  desk  for  reading  and 
benches  for  sitting  would  be  almost  the  only  furniture  in 
the  room.  The  candlestick  and  a  few  lamps  kept  burn- 
ing would  be  an  effective  symbol  of  the  Light  of  God 
burning  in  the  human  soul.  Perhaps  there  would  be  a 
finely  wrought  box  in  which  the  records  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures were  kept.  But  in  general  the  simplicity  and 
spirituality  of  the  atmosphere  would  be  its  greatest 
appeal. 

These  synagogues  of  the  Dispersion  kept  in  close 
touch  with  the  mother-community  at  Jerusalem.  Every 
spring  at  Passover  time  delegates  were  sent  to  the  cele- 
brations. The  list  in  the  second  chapter  of  Acts  reaches 
from  Mesopotamia  in  the  east  to  Rome  in  the  west. 
Every  Jew  hoped  to  see  the  Temple  once  in  his  hfe,  and 
if  possible  frequently.  Each  synagogue  was  expected  to 
contribute  to  the  support  of  the  elaborate  worship  at 


MEDITERRANEAN  LIFE  IN  PAUL'S  DAY  ii 

Jerusalem.  In  the  spread  of  the  Christian  gospel  this 
unity  of  the  Dispersion  was  of  great  importance.  Al- 
most as  serum  injected  into  the  blood  is  carried  to  all 
parts  of  the  body,  so  Christianity  was  carried  out  along 
the  great  arteries  already  established  into  the  remotest 
parts  of  the  empire. 

A  further  significant  fact  was  the  liberalizing  influence 
of  living  in  the  large  cities  of  the  empire.  The  Hebrew 
religion  was  to  a  large  extent  adapted  to  the  new  environ- 
ment. The  ceremonial  of  the  Jewish  law  which  could 
not  be  observed  without  great  inconvenience  was  reduced 
to  a  minimum.  Greater  emphasis  was  placed  upon 
ethical  and  spiritual  requirements.  The  Greek  trans- 
lation of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  was  used.  This  Greek 
version,  which  does  not  agree  in  all  particulars  with  the 
Hebrew,  was  the  Bible  of  Paul's  churches  and  gentile 
Christianity  in  general.  In  the  vigorous  proselyting 
activity  many  concessions  to  gentile  points  of  view  were 
made.  Large  use  of  allegory  in  interpreting  the  Scrip- 
ture helped  to  bridge  the  way  to  the  principles  of  Greek 
philosophy.  Thus  while  in  Jerusalem  the  Jews  were 
becoming  ceremonially  legalistic  to  an  extreme,  in  the 
Roman  world  at  large  the  religion  of  the  Jews  was  inter- 
preting itself  in  terms  which  appealed  to  the  nations  of 
the  empire. 

There  is  one  further  feature  of  the  life  of  the  Disper- 
sion which  is  of  paramount  importance  for  the  under- 
standing of  Paul's  success.  Throughout  the  empire  were 
many  men  who  felt  that  the  exalted  Jewish  conception 
of  God  was  the  true  one,  but  who  were  unwilling  to  go  to 
the  ceremonial  extent  of  having  themselves  circumcised 
and  in  other  ways  conforming  to  Jewish  requirements. 


12  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Cornelius  the  centurion  is  described  in  Acts  10:2  as  a 
devout  man  and  one  who  feared  God  with  all  his  house, 
gave  much  alms  to  the  people,  and  prayed  to  God  always. 
Yet  this  man  was  considered  technically  unclean  by  Peter 
until  after  his  vision.  This  class  of  men,  mentioned  fre- 
quently in  the  Book  of  Acts  among  the  Dispersion,  are 
called  those  "that  fear  God."  They  constituted  a  con- 
siderable section  in  the  attendance  upon  every  syna- 
gogue of  the  Dispersion.  They  were  not  considered 
Jews.  They  were  excluded  from  Jewish  privileges  and 
to  a  certain  extent  regarded  as  ''unclean"  by  the  Jews 
merely  because  they  revolted  at  certain  ceremonial 
requirements.  To  these  men  the  word  that  the  Mosaic 
law  had  been  superseded  would  come  with  peculiar 
power  and  force.  Trained  in  prophetic  ideals,  they  were 
ready  and  eager  for  just  such  a  message  as  Paul  brought. 

4.    POLITICAL  AND   SOCLAL  CONDITIONS   IN 
THE   EMPIRE 

From  the  Battle  of  Actium  in  31  B.C.  to  the  end  of 
his  long  reign  in  14  a.d.  the  emperor  Augustus  applied 
himself  to  the  unification  of  the  civilized  world.  He 
was  fundamentally  devoted  to  the  cause  of  peace  and 
order  and  was  possessed  of  a  strong  will  to  carry  out 
his  purpose.  He  ushered  in  the  most  prosperous  period 
of  antiquity.  Tiberius,  who  followed  Augustus,  also  had 
a  long  and  outwardly  peaceful  reign  (14  to  37).  Both 
he  and  Claudius  (41  to  54),  who  came  to  the  throne  after 
the  short  intervening  reign  of  Caligula  (37  to  41),  were 
interested  in  building  up  the  life  of  the  provinces  and 
in  uniting  the  empire.  Toleration  and  harmony  were 
everywhere  encouraged  and,  if  necessary,  enforced. 


MEDITERRANEAN  LIFE  IN  PAUL'S  DAY  13 

The  various  nationalities  came  to  know  each  other's 
customs  and  creeds.  Never  had  the  world  known  itself ; 
so  well.  There  was  one  language  which  could  be  used 
almost  everywhere.  Egyptians,  Judeans,  Syrians,  Cili- 
cians,  Galatians,  Macedonians,  and  Romans  could  speak 
and  understand  jGrroek.  The  New  Testament  was  writ- 
ten in  this  language,  although  most  of  its  writers  were 
Jews.  Travel  became  easy  because  of  the  development 
of  road  systems  and  lines  of  sailing  vessels.  It  became 
safe  because  travelers,  especially  any  who  had  attained 
Roman  citizenship,  were  rigorously  protected  wherever 
they  went.  The  right  of  appeal  to  the  emperor  insured 
against  local  persecution. 

That  the  life  of  Paul's  day  was  more  than  eighteen 
centuries  behind  us  in  time,  that  its  scenes  were  in  lands 
thousands  of  miles  removed  from  America,  that  it  was 
without  the  multitude  of  conveniences  that  modern 
invention  has  produced,  might  make  in  our  minds  the 
impression  that  the  life  itself  must  be  widely  different 
from  our  own.  But  the  glimpses  into  that  life  which  we 
have  in  recent  years  gained  through  the  discovery  of 
papyrus  fragments  that  have  lain  for  centuries  in  the 
sands  of  Eg^pt  have  revealed  a  lively  activity  which 
is  by  no  means  strange  or  distant.  As  we  read  these 
scraps  of  personal  correspondence,  Paul's  letters  take 
on  new  life  and  freshness. 

The  travel  of  the  time  is  reflected  in  many  papyrus 
notes.  One  is  a  letter  written  home  by  a  tourist  who 
has  been  "doing"  the  Nile  and  studying  the  ancient 
Egyptian  temples  that  he  may,  to  use  his  own  expres- 
sion, "learn  about  the  works  made  by  men's  hands" 
(cf .  Acts  17:24).     Incidentally  he  confesses  to  scratching 


14  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

names  on  the  walls  of  the  sanctuaries  "for  perpetual 
remembrance."  Another  is  a  letter  of  recommendation 
such  as  Paul  insisted  he  did  not  need  to  the  Corinthians. 
Another  is  a  request  from  an  Athenian  to  the  folks  at 
home  to  send  an  overcoat.  He  has  been  caught  in  a 
spell  of  cold  weather  such  as  perhaps  caused  Paul  to  send 
for  that  cloak  he  left  at  Troas  with  Carpus  (Milligan, 
Greek  Pap.  No.  26;  Goodspeed,  No.  4;  Deissmann, 
Light  from  the  East,  No.  i). 

New  glimpses  into  family  life  and  relationships  are 
particularly  numerous.  One  man  writes  another  re- 
questing the  loan  of  dishes  and  many  other  things  for 
a  house  party.  He  asks  incidentally  for  some  bronze 
cymbals.  When  Paul  told  the  Corinthians  that  a 
Christian  without  love  is  like  "a  clanging  cymbal," 
he  was  using  no  uncertain  or  unfamiliar  illustration 
{Hibeh  Pap.,  No.  54).  The  same  letter  speaks  of  a 
runaway  slave  and  hopes  for  his  speedy  arrest.  Perhaps 
that  slave  did  not  receive  as  kindly  treatment  as  Paul 
probably  secured  for  the  runaway  Onesimus.  The 
position  of  slaves,  however,  improved  in  Paul's  day. 
Claudius  was  the  first  to  make  the  killing  of  a  slave 
a  capital  offense. 

Another  letter  reflects  a  death  scene  in  the  home. 
Philo  and  his  wife  have  lost  their  son.  The  mother  is  in 
great  grief.  Her  friend  Irene  writes  her  a  letter  meant 
to  be  one  of  consolation:  "I  wept  over  the  death  of  your 
son,"  she  writes,  "as  much  as  I  did  when  my  own 
child  Didymas  passed  away."  Notice  the  pathos  of 
her  hopelessness  as  she  closes  her  letter  with  these  words : 
"Against  such  things  one  can  do  nothing."  To  such 
families  Paul  came  with  his  cheering  words,  as  he  did 


MEDITERRANEAN  LIFE  IN  PAUL'S  DAY  15 

at  Thessalonica :  "Sorrow  not  even  as  the  rest  who 
have  no  hope"  (Milligan,  Greek  Pap.,  No.  38). 

Here  is  a  letter  which  a  prodigal  son  has  written 
home  on  a  frayed  sheet  of  papyrus.  He  has  heard  from 
his  friend  Postumus  that  his  mother  had  gone  to  the 
metropolis  to  look  for  him.  If  he  had  only  known,  he 
would  have  dared  to  go  there  to  meet  her,  but  he  did 
not  have  the  courage  to  go  home  to  his  own  village. 
"I  want  you  to  know,"  he  writes,  "txiat  I  had  no  idea 
you  would  go  to  the  metropolis.  And  that  is  the  reason 
I  did  not  come.  And  I  was  ashamed  to  come  to  Caranis 
[his  home]  because  I  go  about  in  rags.  I  write  to  you 
that  I  am  naked.  I  beseech  you,  mother,  be  reconciled 
to  me.  I  know  what  I  have  brought  upon  myself.  I 
have  been  chastened  every  day.  I  know  that  I  have 
sinned — I  beseech  thee  .  .  .  ."  The  rest  of  the  letter 
is  so  worn  and  torn  that  we  cannot  read  it.  It  may  be 
that  the  mother's  tears  aided  in  making  it  illegible 
(Milligan,  Greek  Pap.,  No.  37). 

Of  the  life  of  soldiers  there  are  many  reflections  in 
the  letters  which  they  wrote  home.  One  young  recruit 
who  has  just  completed  the  journey,  probably  his  first 
sea  voyage,  from  his  home  in  Egypt  to  the  training  camp 
in  Italy,  writes  of  his  dire  "danger  at  sea,"  is  thankful 
for  his  "rescue,"  sends  his  "picture"  (probably  taken 
in  his  new  uniform),  hopes  for  a  "promotion"  in  the 
near  future,  and  begs  for  news  from  home.  He  uses  the 
margin  lengthwise  for  greetings  to  his  friends  (Milligan, 
Greek  Pap.,  No.  36). 

Here  is  another  in  the  latest  volume  of  Oxyrhynchus 
Papyri  (Vol.  XII,  No.  1481).  It  is  from  one  of  the  boys 
"in  camp."     He  is  writing  to  his  distracted  mother,  who 


i6  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

has  heard  by  some  roundabout  way  of  his  being  laid  up. 
"Don't  be  distressed.  I  was  greatly  distressed  to  hear 
that  you  had  heard;  for  I  was  not  seriously  disabled. 
And  I  blame  the  man  who  told  you."  Though  he  was 
not  a  Christian,  but  a  worshiper  of  Isis,  he  shows  his 
Christian  solicitude  as  he  thinks  of  the  shortage  at  home 
by  writing  in  his  letter  and  repeating  again  in  the  margin : 
"Don't  trouble  to  be  sending  us  anything." 

Paul  was  one  of  many  travelers  who  went  from  coun- 
try to  country.  On  his  journeys  he  wrote  letters  as 
others  did.  Although  he  employed  his  letters  as  a 
means  of  instruction,  nevertheless  there  are  constant 
points  of  contact  in  phrase  and  illustration  with  the  life 
of  the  time.  He  talked  about  temples  not  "made  with 
hands."  He  spoke  of  bondage  and  slavery  and  redemp- 
tion. He  used  the  same  word  as  the  prodigal  son  when 
he  spoke  of  being  "reconciled"  to  God.  In  a  world 
familiar  with  military  affairs,  he  begged  men  to  put  on 
his  new  kind  of  breastplate  and  helmet.  He  entered 
into  almost  every  phase  of  the  life  of  the  great  cities  and 
expressed  himself  in  the  simple,  direct  language  of  the 
people  to  whom  he  came. 

5.      PHILOSOPHIES  AND  MYSTERY-RELIGIONS 

The  development  and  spread  of  philosophy,  espe- 
cially since  the  days  of  Alexander,  had  had  an  important 
.^  and  far-reaching  influence  on  the  religious  thinking  of 
I  multitudes  of  people  throughout  the  Roman  Empire. 

■  Plato  and  after  him  the  Stoics  had  given  wide  currency 
\  to  the  belief  in  one  supreme  God  and  the  possibility  of 

■  life  after  death.     The  Epicureans  had  helped  to  make 
the  popular  polytheism  ridiculous.     Cynics  and  Stoics 


MEDITERRANEAN  LIFE  IN  PAUL'S  DAY    17 

both  gave  much  attention  to  the  ethical  aspects  of  every- 
day Hfe.  Nor  were  these  leadings  of  the  philosophers 
the  possession  of  the  learned  only;  they  were  spread 
abroad  by  conversational  tracts,  called  diatribe.  Rarely 
perhaps  has  philosophy  more  effectively  reached  and 
influenced  the  masses. 

The  result  of  this  process  was  threefold:  (i)  The 
popular  polytheism,  with  its  belief  in  a  multitude  of  gods 
greater  and  lesser,  lost  its  hold  upon  men.  Even  those 
who  like  the  Epicureans  and  others  used  the  old  phrases 
did  not  believe  in  the  ideas  for  which  they  once  stood. 
(2)  In  its  place  a  philosophic  monotheism  was  taught 
by  the  philosophers  and  widely  accepted.  (3)  The  decay 
of  the  old  polytheism,  the  deepening  of  ethical  thought, 
and  the  belief  in  the  possibility  of  a  future  life  all  tended 
to  create  a  hunger  for  a  religion  of  the  individual  which 
could  elevate  life,  give  fellowship  with  God,  and  assure 
one  of  immortahty.  Into  a  world  thus  hungry  the 
so-called  mystery-religions  came  with  their  answers  to  all 
these  demands. 

The  more  popular  of  these  were  the  Eleusinian 
Mysteries  of  Greece,  the  Mysteries  of  Mithra  from 
Persia,  the  Mysteries  of  Isis  from  Egypt,  and  the  Cybele- 
Attis  Mysteries  from  Asia  Minor.  All  these  religions 
were  seeking  an  answer  to  the  greatest  needs  of  life  and 
death.  They  aimed  to  help  a  man  to  overcome  himself, 
his  fears,  his  lower  nature,  his  insidious,  destructive  sins. 
They  put  him  in  touch  with  the  unseen,  the  eternal, 
the  abiding,  the  exalting,  the  spiritual.  Many  a  man 
who  had  been  initiated  into  one  of  these  sacred  cults 
became  a  better  man.  In  most  cases  a  candidate  for 
admission  after  praying  and  fasting  had  to  wash  himself 


i8  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

thoroughly  as  a  token  that  he  would  thereafter  keep 
himself  not  only  physically  pure  but  mentally  and 
spiritually  as  well.  Then  he  would  take  certain  oaths. 
In  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries  he  must  promise  to  be  "pure 
of  hand"  and  "pure  of  soul."  He  must  feel  that  the 
deity  may  speak  to  him  and  through  him,  be  reconciled 
to  him,  deliver  him  from  sin.  In  this  partnership  with 
deity  was  to  be  his  assurance  of  immortality. 

In  the  famous  description  of  the  initiation  of  Lucius 
into  the  Mysteries  of  Isis  at  Cenchreae  (Apuleius,  Metam. 
xi.  18-25),  the  symbolic  washings  are  described  and  ten 
days  of  secluded  meditation.  Then  Lucius  was  con- 
ducted through  a  series  of  scenes  in  the  temple  depicting 
the  experience  of  death,  the  abode  of  the  blessed  after 
death,  and  the  glory  of  standing  in  the  presence  of  the 
gods.  The  net  effect  of  the  whole  initiation  was  to 
create  an  indelible  impression  of  the  badness  of  evil  and 
the  eternal  nobility  of  goodness,  to  make  the  initiate 
forget  his  petty  pains  or  pleasures  and  to  live  mindful 
of  the  truth,  proved  by  philosophy,  that  his  soul  had  an 
eternal  destiny. 

But  along  with  the  good  and  the  inspiring  features  of 
these  religions  were  many  useless  and  superstitious  and 
even  pernicious  practices.  Those  "mysteries"  which 
appealed  to  the  senses  and  the  passions  naturally  tended 
to  be  more  popular.  In  many  cases  a  man  who  worked 
himself  into  a  frenzy  by  dancing  or  drinking  or  mere  play 
upon  his  emotions  was  considered  to  be  nearer  the  deity 
than  a  man  in  his  right  mind. 

It  was  into  a  world  already  seeking  to  satisfy  its  deep 
longing  with  philosophy  or  with  the  mystery-religions 
of  the  East  that  Paul  came  with  his  message,  kindred  in 


MEDITERRANEAN  LIFE  IN  PAUL'S  DAY  19 

many  respects  with  theirs,  for  he  too  taught  the  doctrine 
of  the  one  God  living  and  true,  purity  of  life,  and  life 
after  death  achieved  through  fellowship  with  the  divine 
spirit,  yet  different  also,  especially  in  the  far  greater 
simplicity  of  his  doctrine  and  of  the  fewer  ceremonies 
that  were  associated  with  it.  For  Paul  dared  to  hope 
that  a  purely  spiritual  religion  would  triumph,  because 
men  eventually  choose  the  highest  and  the  best.  It  was 
this  confidence  that  gave  him  courage  to  preach  through- 
out the  Roman  Empire  his  gospel  of  faith  in  a  crucified 
Christ,  the  revelation  of  the  all-loving  Father,  and  of 
fellowship  with  him. 

6.      EMPEROR-WORSHIP 

The  attempt  of  Rome  to  institute  a  religion  of  the 
empire  was  part  of  the  government's  policy  of  unification. 
The  world  was  one  politically.  The  nations  were  uniting 
upon  one  language.  Why  should  not  the  peoples  share 
in  a  common  religion?  Nor  was  exaltation  of  the 
supreme  ruler  as  an  object  of  worship  a  new  idea  in  the 
world.  Both  in  Egypt  and  in  Babylon  departed  rulers 
were  from  early  days  deified  and  pictured  as  enjoying 
fellowship  with  the  gods.  The  transition  from  calling 
a  dead  ruler  a  god  to  calling  his  living  son  divine  was  an 
easy  one  in  the  Orient.  The  word  "divine"  came  to  be 
applied  regularly  to  rulers  of  Egypt  during  their  lifetime. 
With  the  approbation  of  Rome  this  general  attitude 
spread  gradually  westward. 

If  Alexander  the  Great  had  been  worshiped  along 
with  the  gods  after  his  death,  if  even  in  Athens  Aristotle 
had  had  an  altar  erected  to  Plato,  why  should  not  the 
great  Pompey  be  called  ''divine,"  as  the  proclamation 


20  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

in  Athens  stated  ?  And  finally  in  Rome  why  should 
anyone  be  shocked  to  hear  the  decree  of  the  Senate  in 
42  B.C.  that  Julius  Caesar  should  be  called  "Julius,  the 
divine  one"  ?  During  the  first  century  a.d.,  especially 
in  the  provinces  at  a  distance  from  Rome,  there  was  a 
steadily  increasing  custom  of  speaking  of  the  living 
emperor  as  divine  and  of  oft"ering  incense  to  him.  It 
had  little  to  do  with  the  longing  and  groping  for  that 
Spiritual  Being  which  their  philosophy  told  them  existed, 
but  whom  they  were  unable  to  find  in  any  real  and  satis- 
fying way. 

From  the  viewpoint  of  the  worshiper  the  emperor  cult 
was  akin  to  the  old  Greek  hero-worship.  Those  who  like 
Hercules  had  done  great  deeds  or  had  rendered  great 
service  to  their  country  were  loaded  with  honors,  were 
regarded  as  demigods,  and  were  supposed  to  have  gone  at 
their  death  to  the  realms  above.  Augustus  did  much 
for  the  people.  The  cessation  of  the  constant  civil  war 
and  the  better  organization  of  the  provinces  won  for  him 
intense  gratitude  everywhere.  Hope  revived  that  now 
perhaps  at  length  the  long  years  of  suffering  and  oppres- 
sion were  at  an  end.  Virgil  sung  that  the  cycle  of  ages 
had  completed  its  circuit  and  the  golden  era  was  about 
to  begin  again.  Justice  was  about  to  return  and  fear  to 
be  banished  from  the  earth.  Augustus  was  often  called 
the  saver,  or  savior,  of  the  whole  earth.  He  was  spoken 
of  as  the  son  of  a  god  and  himself  divine.  The  fact  that 
Augustus  himself  publicly  declined  these  epithets  did  not 
detract  from  popular  enthusiasm. 

As  years  rolled  on  and  still  the  perfect  commonwealth 
was  not  realized,  as  oppression  and  injustice  continued, 
people  looked  for  their  benefactor  in  the  person  of  other 


MEDITERRANEAN  LIFE  IN  PAUL'S  DAY  21 

later  emperors.  Claudius  (41-54  a.d.),  who  was  em- 
peror during  much  of  Paul's  missionary  activity, 
was  a  good  ruler.  He  was  another  who  was  called 
savior  of  the  world.  When  Paul  talked  of  a  savior 
and  of  salvation  he  was  using  terms  which  were  very 
real  to  the  peoples  of  the  empire.  Disappointed  hopes 
revived  and  longings  for  a  freer  and  larger  life  were 
awakened. 

7.    "the  fulness  of  time" 

The  general  situation  may  be  briefly  stated  under 
three  heads:  (i)  the  Jews  of  Palestine,  (2)  the  Disper- 
sion, (3)  the  Graeco-Roman  world  in  general. 

I .  Politically,  the  Jews  of  Palestine  had  been  through 
severe  experiences  in  the  last  centuries  before  Christ. 
Many  Jews  had  begun  to  realize  that  God's  "chosen" 
people  were  not  chosen  to  be  military  leaders.  When 
they  had  fought  for  religious  liberty  they  had  again  and 
again  been  successful,  but  when  they  had  pushed  on 
toward  political  conquest  they  had  not  often  been  pros- 
perous. They  were  turning  their  efforts  toward  a  more 
perfect  interpretation  of  their  religion  and  to  the  making 
of  converts.  Socially,  the  Jews  had  become  acquainted 
with  other  peoples.  After  the  time  of  Alexander  the 
Great,  Greek  culture  and  Greek  ideas  had  irresistibly 
penetrated  Palestine.  The  holy  and  separate  people 
was  becoming  increasingly  a  highway  of  the  nations. 
Religiously,  the  messianic  hope  had  been  deepened  and 
likewise  broadened.  Emphasis  on  the  ethical  and 
spiritual  was  crowding  out  narrow  nationalistic  ideas. 
The  expected  Kingdom  took  on  an  international  aspect 
to  a  greater  extent  than  ever  before. 


22  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

2.  Between  Palestinian  Judaism  and  the  Western 
World  there  had  developed  a  mediating  agency,  the 
Jewish  Dispersion.  It  was  a  migration  of  Jews  from 
Palestine  to  avoid  war  and  persecution  or  to  acquire 
money  and  position.  They  had  settled  in  colonies  in 
every  important  center  of  the  empire.  They  were  not 
only  everywhere  upholding  the  Jewish  ideals  of  mono- 
theism and  ethical  purity,  but  were  steadily  making 
converts  to  their  faith.  Socially,  the  various  groups 
maintained  close  relationship  with  the  mother-country 
and  with  each  other.  This  unity  made  the  Dispersion  an 
effective  instrument  for  quickly  spreading  throughout 
the  world  the  news  of  any  new  prophet  or  Messiah  who 
might  appear.  Religiously,  these  Jews  of  the  Disper- 
sion were  not  so  narrow  in  their  point  of  view  as  the 
leaders  at  Jerusalem.  They  naturally  had  to  omit 
temple  sacrifices  and  many  ceremonial  observances. 
They  came  into  contact  with  the  peoples  of  the  world, 
with  the  large  ideas  of  Greek  philosophy,  and  with  the 
practical  ways  of  Roman  leadership. 

Of  particular  significance  was  that  outer  circle  of 
gentile  converts  who  refused  to  believe  in  the  necessity 
of  circumcision  and  of  ceremonial  in  general,  but  who 
nevertheless  were  convinced  that  the  Jews  were  right 
in  declaring  that  there  was  but  one  God  who  guided  all 
things  and  who  demanded  righteousness  of  his  followers. 
These  men  and  women,  not  called  Jews  nor  even  prose- 
lytes, but  simply  the  "devout"  ones  or  the  ones  who 
"fear  God,"  were  the  keystone  in  the  arch  of  the  bridge 
which  led  from  Jerusalem  to  the  peoples  of  the  world. 

3.  In  the  Graeco-Roman  world  at  large  many  differ- 
ent tendencies  were  to  have  an  influence  on  the  career  of 


MEDITERRANEAN  LIFE  IN  PAUL'S  DAY  23 

Paul.  Politically,  the  Roman  government  had  ushered 
in  an  era  of  peace.  War  had  practically  ceased.  The 
time  of  Augustus  was  a  sort  of  Golden  Age.  The  policy 
of  universal  toleration  of  all  religions  and  creeds  gave 
Christianity  a  chance  to  make  its  appeal.  The  whole 
Mediterranean  world  had  come  under  this  one  govern- 
ment. Socially,  the  result  of  the  political  unity  was  a 
mingling  of  peoples  such  as  can  be  paralleled  only  in 
America  in  modern  times.  So  thorough  was  this  inter- 
course that  one  language  was  everywhere  spoken  and 
understood.  In  addition  to  the  unity  of  language  there 
was  the  unusual  development  of  commerce.  Navigation 
lines  and  well-paved  roads  connected  all  important  points 
of  the  empire.  Travel  had  never  been  so  easy  nor  so 
safe  as  in  the  first  century.  Religiously,  the  peoples  had 
awakened.  Philosophical  monotheism  had  started  over 
the  empire  a  wave  of  atheism  which  had  largely  broken 
the  charm  of  the  religions  of  Greece  and  Rome.  There 
was  a  real  desire  to  find  God.  Educated  men  were  turn- 
ing to  the  great  spiritual  doctrines  of  Stoicism;  others 
were  looking  to  the  East  and  finding  inadequate  satis- 
faction in  the  mystery-religions. 

The  tendency  toward  monotheism  and  the  conse- 
quent discrediting  of  polytheism,  the  various  attempts 
by  the  people  to  commune  with  God  in  the  mystery- 
religions,  the  intensity  with  which  the  people  were 
looking  for  a  new  age  and  an  empire  of  justice  and 
brotherhood  and  happiness  in  place  of  oppression  and 
domination  and  misery,  show  that  the  messianic  hope 
was  not  confined  to  the  Jews.  There  was  a  flood 
of  waiting  expectation  which  we  may  justly  call 
the  messianic   hope    of    the   world,   an   international, 


24  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

universal  longing  for  the   day  when  men   ''shall  live 
the  life  of  gods." 

The  base  degenerate  iron  offspring  ends, 
A  golden  progeny  from  heaven  descends. 
The  jarring  nations  he  in  peace  shall  bind 
And  with  paternal  virtues  rule  mankind. 

— ^Virgil,  Fourth  Eclogue. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READING 

1.  Breasted,  Ancient  Times,  pp.  425-83. 

3.  Kent,  Work  and  Teachings  of  the  Apostles,  pp.  9-20. 

6.  Angus,  Environment  of  Early  Christianity,  pp.  68-139. 

2.  Goodspeed,  History  of  the  Ancient  World,  pp.  357-96. 

4.  Dill,  Roman  Society,  pp.  289-383. 

5.  Ca,se,  Evolution  of  Early  Christianity,  pp.  48-77,   284-330. 

7.  Kennedy,  St.  Paul  and  the  Mystery-Religions,  pp.  68-114. 

8.  Deissmann,  St.  Paul,  pp.  29-54. 

9.  McGiffert,  A  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age, 
pp.  151-60. 

10.  Milligan,  Greek  Papyri,  pp.  xix-xxxii,  Nos.  8,  26,  36,  37,  38. 


CHAPTER  II 
PAUL'S  YOUTH 

1.  Boyhood  at  Tarsus 

Acts  21:39;    22:3,  27,  28;    23:6;    Phil.  3:5;    I  Sam. 
9: 1,  2;  Acts  18:3 

2.  Training  at  Jerusalem 

Acts  22:3;  23:16;  26:4;  5:34;  Gal.  1 :  14 

3.  Jewish  Law  as  a  Schoolmaster 

Acts  26:5;  Phil.  3:5;  Gal.  3:23-25 

4.  Paul's  Personal  Traits 

(i)  Phil.  3:5  I'.y.  Acts  22:28 

(2)  Acts  22:3;  I  Cor.  2:6  vs.  I  Cor.  4:12;  Acts  20:34,  35 

(3)  Gal.  1:17;  I  Cor.  9:27;  II  Cor.  12:4  z)5.  I  Cor.  9:22; 
II  Cor.  13 : 1-3 

(4)  Gal.  4:13;   II  Cor.  12:7  vs.  II  Cor.  11:23-27. 
I  Cor.  9:24,  25  w.  Gal.  2:20;  5:16 

(5)  Phil.  4:7  vs.  Eph.  6:11,  13-17;  I  Thess.  5:8;  II  Tim. 
4:7 

(6)  I  Cor.  2:3;   15:9  w.  II  Cor.  11:5;   12:11 

I,      BOYHOOD  AT  TARSUS 

Paul  was  "a  citizen  of  no  mean  city."  Tarsus,  on 
the  river  Cydnus  in  the  fertile  Cilician  plain  about  twelve 
miles  from  the  sea,  was  an  important  center  with  an 
illustrious  history.  Before  the  conquests  of  Alexander 
it  had  been  an  oriental  town.  Then  a  university  was 
founded.  The  Romans  recognized  the  prominence  of 
the  place  and  favored  it.  Cicero  lived  here  while  gov- 
ernor of  Cilicia  (51-50  B.C.).  It  was  here  that  Anthony 
in  38  B.C.  summoned  Cleopatra  to  appear  before  him. 

25 


26  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Here  she  voyaged  up  the  river  with  her  gaily  dressed 
rowers  and  silvered  oars,  conquering  Anthony  by  her 
beauty  and  her  charm.  Here  lived  Athenodorus,  who 
taught  the  emperor  Augustus.  In  22  B.C.  Augustus  not 
only  confirmed  the  freedom  of  the  city,  but  gave  it  the 
title  of  "metropolis"  and  the  right  to  issue  its  own  coins 
with  that  title  upon  them. 

The  geographer  Strabo,  who  lived  from  54  B.C.  to 
24A.D.,  says  that  Tarsus  ranked  above  Athens  and 
Alexandria  as  a  center  of  the  study  of  philosophy.  Apol- 
lonius  studied  here  in  the  first  century,  and  later  Theo- 
dore of  Mopsuestia,  and  Chrysostom.  Close  by  Tarsus, 
in  Soli,  was  the  home  of  Aratus  the  poet  (270  B.C.),  whom 
Paul  quoted  in  his  Athenian  address. 

Located  midway  between  the  East  and  the  West, 
Tarsus  was  a  transition  point  for  travel  both  on  land 
and  on  sea.  Because  of  its  nearness  to  the  famous 
Cilician  Gates  (3,600  feet)  it  was  a  natural  stopping- 
place  for  the  overland  commerce  and  culture  which 
flowed  in  both  directions  through  the  Taurus  Mountains. 
And  along  the  banks  of  the  river  the  ships  came  in  from 
both  East  and  West  and  docked.  There  sailors  from 
Syria  and  sailors  from  Greece  would  meet,  and  there  the 
Jewish  scholar  disembarking  from  one  boat  would  see 
the  Roman  scholar  landing  from  another.  Both  would 
walk  up  the  same  street  toward  the  university. 

It  is  true  that  Tarsus  was  very  different  from 
Nazareth,  where  Jesus  spent  his  boyhood.  Nazareth 
was  rural,  closer  to  nature.  Tarsus  was  an  industrial 
center,  more  cosmopolitan.  Jesus  had  much  to  say 
about  animals  and  natural  scenery.  Paul  drew  his 
illustrations  largely  from  city  life. 


PAUL'S  YOUTH  27 

Yet  it  is  noteworthy  that  the  home  of  Jesus  and  the 
home  of  Paul  had  certain  characteristics  in  common. 
In  Nazareth  Jesus  could  in  a  few  minutes  walk  from  his 
home  to  a  ridge  where  he  could  view  the  snows  of 
Hermon,  10,000  feet  high.  In  like  manner  Paul  saw, 
near  by,  the  snows  of  the  Taurus  Range.  Who  shall 
say  that  Paul  did  not  now  and  then  climb  these  lofty 
mountains  and  thereby  develop  not  only  an  upward 
look  but  a  certain  physical  persistence  which  was  his 
peculiar  heritage? 

From  his  home  in  Nazareth  Jesus  could  look  out 
upon  the  plain  of  Esdraelon  and  see  the  caravans  of  the 
nations  passing  on  their  way  from  Damascus  to  Egypt. 
In  like  manner  Paul  in  his  youth  must  often  have  spent 
mornings  upon  the  wharves  looking  with  curiosity  upon 
the  ships  that  came  in.  He  would  be  fascinated;  he 
would  dream  such  dreams  as  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  dreamed 
while  haunting  the  wharves  of  old  Portsmouth.  Visions 
of  far  countries,  of  strange  cities,  of  great  deeds,  must 
have  come  to  the  keen  eyes  and  roaming  thoughts  of 
the  Jewish  boy. 

Again,  not  very  far  from  Nazareth  the  boy  Jesus 
could  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  Mediterranean  at  two 
little  V-shaped  openings  in  the  hills.  The  sea  would 
speak  to  him  of  the  bigness  of  the  world.  Tarsus, 
too,  is  but  a  few  miles  from  the  coast.  The  boy 
Paul  could  in  intervals  of  work  or  study  visit  the 
hillside  and  look  out  over  the  blue  waters  with  their 
many  sails. 

The  effect  upon  the  boys  was  to  develop  an  exalted 
and  large  view  of  human  existence.  Both  Jesus  and 
Paul  lived  very  close  to  life.     Both  understood  men. 


28  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Yet  in  their  leadership  both  looked  above  and  beyond. 
They  knew  the  lowest  and  the  highest  in  life,  the  daily 
task  and  the  distant  goal. 

As  Paul  grew  to  self-consciousness  he  would  feel  a 
triple  pride  which  would  distinguish  him  from  his  play- 
mates and  convince  him  in  his  earliest  years  that  he  was 
destined  for  no  ordinary  career.  First  of  all  he  would  be 
proud  of  his  birthplace.  Every  year  as  the  holidays 
rolled  round  which  celebrated  the  remarkable  events  in 
the  city's  history  he  would  become  more  and  more 
f amihar  with  the  exploits  of  the  noted  men-  who  had" 
lived  and  labored  there. 

A  second  and  larger  element  in  his  pride  would  be 
his  distinguished  Jewish  lineage.  There  would  be  few 
if  any  others  in  Tarsus  who  could  claim  descent  from 
the  favored  Benjamin.  Saul  was  the  name  of  the  first 
monarch  and  greatest  soldier  of  Israel,  whose  descrip- 
tion would  be  among  the  first  lessons  in  the  Scriptures. 
As  a  growing  boy  Paul  would  strive  zealously  to  imitate 
his  royal  ancestor  whose  name  he  bore  and  to  become 
"from  his  shoulders  and  upward  higher  than  any  of  the 
people."  Surely  he  later  attained  that  ideal  in  a  nobler 
than  the  physical  sense. 

The  third  and  most  distinguishing  element  in  his 
pride  would  be  his  father's  Roman  citizenship.  From 
his  earliest  years  he  would  be  as  proud  of  his  Roman 
name  Paul  as  of  his  Jewish  name  Saul.  It  is  extremely 
unlikely  that  there  was  another  family  in  Tarsus  of  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin  which  enjoyed  the  honor  of  Roman 
citizenship.  Throughout  his  hfe  we  may  believe  he 
maintained  this  triple  pride,  in  Tarsus,  in  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin,  in  Roman  birth. 


PAUL'S  YOUTH  29 

Paul  probably  remained  in  Tarsus  until  he  was  about 
fifteen  years  of  age.  His  chief  schooling  was  naturally 
at  the  Jewish  synagogue  school.  The  language  of  in- 
struction was  Greek,  and  the  Greek  version  of  the 
Scriptures  was  his  Bible.  But  he  learned  to  read  the 
Old  Testament  in  Hebrew.  His  first  lessons  would  per- 
haps consist  in  memorizing  sections  of  the  Law  and  the 
Prophets  both  in  Greek  and  in  Hebrew.  Before  leaving 
Tarsus  he  would  probably  be  able  to  read  intelligently 
many  parts  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  and  be  familiar 
with  sections  of  interpretations  of  famous  Jewish  rabbis. 

Either  during  these  years  or  later  he  learned  the  trade 
of  tent-making.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  his 
father  was  especially  poor.  Every  Jewish  boy  was 
taught  a  trade.  If  he  was  ambitious  to  become  a  teacher, 
it  was  especially  important  to  have  some  way  of  earning 
a  living,  for  teachers  were  paid  even  less  in  that  day 
than  now.  While  the  exact  nature  of  his  trade  of  "tent- 
making"  is  not  entirely  clear,  we  are  fairly  safe  in  con- 
cluding that  he  learned  to  weave  the  coarse  tent-cloth, 
to  throw  the  shuttle  and  shift  the  threads  for  the  return 
throw,  as  is  so  common  in  the  Orient  today. 

2.      TRAINING   AT  JERUSALEM 

Paul  was  a  traveler.  It  was  in  his  blood  and  in  the 
air  he  breathed.  From  his  earliest  days  he  had  heard 
stories  of  the  home  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  and  of  the 
magnificence  of  the  Jewish  temple.  In  Acts  22:3  the 
words  "brought  up  in  this  city"  indicate  that  Paul  went 
to  Jerusalem  while  still  very  young.  He  probably  had 
relatives  in  Jerusalem  with  whom  he  could  stay  (cf. 
Acts  23:16).    At  the  age  of  fifteen  or  sixteen,  with  his 


30  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

baggage  packed  in  leather  bags,  he  embarked  at  Tarsus 
upon  one  of  the  big  ships  bound  for  the  coast  of  Palestine. 

He  would  sail  down  the  Cydnus  out  into  the  wide 
waters  and,  after  a  night  of  much  anticipation  and  little 
sleep,  would  watch  the  shores  of  Syria  as  his  ship  moved 
southward.  Majestic  Lebanon  and  Hermon  would  pass 
by.  Bold  Mount  Carmel,  thrusting  itself  forward  into 
the  sea,  would  speak  of  Elijah  and  the  early  warriors  of 
God.  The  mountains  of  Judea  would  be  to  him  re- 
minders of  Amos,  of  Isaiah,  of  Jeremiah,  of  the  other 
prophets  who  formed  and  fostered  the  faith  of  Israel. 

He  would  land  at  Caesarea,  which,  long  after  the  days 
of  Jonah,  had  superseded  Joppa  as  the  port  of  Jerusalem. 
He  would  admire  the  Roman  castle  built  out  into  the 
water,  little  dreaming  that  he  was  later  to  spend  two 
years  as  a  prisoner  there.  The  journey  up  to  Jerusalem 
could  be  easily  made  in  two  days  on  horseback.  The 
second  morning  would  be  especially  exhilarating,  as  the 
road  ascended  to  magnificent  views  of  the  plain  and 
the  sea,  reaching  at  Jerusalem  a  height  of  2,600  feet. 

The  Temple  with  its  central  sanctuary  and  its  out- 
lying buildings  was  one  of  the  most  elaborate  and  costly 
places  of  worship  in  the  Roman  Empire.  What  the 
palace  of  the  emperor  was  to  Rome,  what  the  Acropolis 
with  its  unparalleled  Parthenon  was  to  Greece,  such 
was  the  Temple  to  Jerusalem  and  to  the  Dispersion 
throughout  the  empire.  Herod  the  Great  had  lavished 
his  extravagance  upon  it.  Forty  years  it  had  been 
building,  and  still  the  beautifying  and  the  adding  of 
further  buildings  continued.  The  youthful  Paul  would 
enter  the  outer  court  with  a  certain  sense  of  ownership. 
In  the  "Court  of  the  Gentiles"  he  would  carefully  read 


PAUL'S  YOUTH  31 

that  ominous  inscription  decreeing  death  to  any  Gentile 
who  passed  beyond.  Then  with  some  awe  and  with  some 
pride  in  his  Jewish  birth  he  would  enter  the  inner  court. 
Either  there  or  outside  he  might  on  his  first  day  meet 
his  instructor,  Gamaliel. 

Gamaliel  was  a  man  well  fitted  to  develop  Paul's 
mind  and  spirit.  There  were  two  schools  of  instruction 
competing  with  each  other  for  first  place  in  Jerusalem. 
From  our  modern  point  of  view  both  were  narrow  and 
provincial.  But  one  put  more  emphasis  upon  the  petty 
details  of  the  law,  while  the  other  was  capable  of  larger 
interpretation.  When  a  Gentile  came  to  Shammai  and 
promised  to  be  his  pupil,  if  he  would  summarize  the 
whole  law  while  standing  on  one  foot,  Shammai  sent  him 
off  in  disgust.  When  Hillel  was  confronted  with  the 
same  proposition  his  answer  was  ready,  "Do  not  do  to 
your  neighbor  anything  which  you  would  not  like  to 
have  him  do  to  you." 

Gamaliel,  who  was  probably  the  grandson  of  Hillel, 
went  so  far  as  to  make  references  to  Greek  works  in  his 
interpretations.  His  broadmindedness  is  reflected  in  an 
interesting  scene  in  the  book  of  Acts  (5:34).  Gamaliel, 
"a  doctor  of  the  law,  had  in  honor  of  all  the  people,"  a 
Pharisee,  rose  up  in  the  council  when  the  Jewish  leaders 
were  about  to  deal  violently  with  the  Christian  apostles. 
*'  Refrain  from  these  men  and  let  them  alone,"  he  advised, 
"for  if  this  work  be  of  men  it  will  be  overthrown:  but 
if  it  is  of  God  ye  will  not  be  able  to  overthrow  them." 
Yet  GamaHel  dealt  sharply  with  those  who  opposed  him. 
Many  tales  are  told  to  illustrate  the  fact  that  Gamaliel 
could  never  be  vanquished  in  any  argument  nor  changed 
in  his  opinion. 


32  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Paul's  Roman  citizenship  and  his  boyhood  in  Tarsus 
furnished  a  favorable  basis  for  a  broad  outlook  upon  the 
world.  By  nature  he  was  resolute  and  determined.  In 
Gamaliel  he  found  an  instructor  who  combined  a  tend- 
ency to  broadmindedness  with  an  unflinching  courage  of 
conviction,  traits  which  were  later  to  play  no  small  part 
in  Paul's  career. 

3.      JEWISH   LAW  AS   A   SCHOOLMASTER 

In  Galatians  Paul  says  that  the  law  is  a  tutor  to  bring 
us  to  Christ  and  adds:  "Now  that  faith  has  come  we  are 
no  longer  under  a  tutor."  Paul's  life  as  a  Jew  was  not 
wholly  lost  time.  It  had  its  definite  part  in  bringing  him 
to  Christ.  Much  he  had  to  unlearn,  but  much  also  he 
retained  as  part  of  his  Christian  effectiveness.  His 
zeal  as  a  Pharisee  of  the  "straightest  sect"  was  not  an 
evil  to  be  overcome  but  a  force  which  was  to  be  turned 
into  a  new  channel  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 

Concerning  Paul's  life  in  Jerusalem  our  information 
is  very  meager.  How  long  did  he  continue  his  studies 
under  Gamaliel?  Was  he  in  Jerusalem  in  the  Temple 
when  Jesus  at  twelve  years  of  age  was  found  entertain- 
ing the  rabbis?  Was  he  in  the  city  at  all  during 
Jesus'  ministry?  How  old  was  Paul  when  Jesus  was 
crucified?  One  very  small  coincidence  is  certain.  If 
Jesus  went  every  year  with  his  parents  (Luke  2:41) 
to  Jerusalem  from  twelve  years  of  age  to  thirty,  the 
two  boys  must  have  been  in  Jerusalem  together  more 
than  once. 

That  Paul  never  met  Jesus  in  the  flesh  seems  certain. 
When  his  enemies  at  Corinth  discredited  his  apostleship 
on  the  ground  that  he  had  never  seen  Jesus,  his  answer 


PAUL'S  YOUTH  33 

was  a  reference  to  the  appearance  of  the  risen  Christ 
(I  Cor.  9:1;  15:8;  cf.  II  Cor.  11:22  flf.)-  Nor  could  he 
have  been  in  Jerusalem  at  all  during  the  great  scenes  of 
Jesus'  ministry  there,  for  he  makes  no  claim  to  have 
direct  external  knowledge  of  those  events. 

During  the  ministry  of  Jesus,  Paul  was  probably  at 
home  again  in  Tarsus.  After  completing  a  course  of 
several  years  under  Gamaliel  at  Jerusalem  he  would 
still  have  little  familiarity  with  Greek  literature  and 
philosophy.  In  view  of  the  prominence  of  the  uni- 
versity at  Tarsus  it  is  unhkely  that  Paul  would  take 
no  advantage  of  his  opportunity  there.  While  he 
might  not  as  a  strict  Jew  pursue  as  thorough  a  course 
of  study  as  he  had  probably  done  at  Jerusalem,  he 
would  at  least  gain  a  general  knowledge  of  Greek 
thought  and  history. 

It  is  not  impossible  that  Paul  made  some  trips  into 
other  districts  and  provinces  as  a  part  of  his  education. 
The  men  of  Tarsus  were  known  as  travelers,  and  later 
at  least  Paul  traveled  extensively.  As  a  persecutor  of 
Christians  Paul  extended  his  activities  "even  unto 
foreign  cities"  (Acts  26 : 1 1).  As  a  Christian  he  planned 
his  journeys  far  ahead  of  him.  When  he  had  gone  as 
far  as  Ephesus  he  planned  to  go  to  Rome  (Acts  19:21). 
When  he  had  reached  Corinth  he  wrote  of  journeying 
to  Spain  (Rom.  1 5 :  24) .  Whether  in  these  early  years  his 
travels  were  extensive  is  impossible  to  say.  Perhaps  he 
went  as  far  as  the  coast  cities  of  Asia  Minor,  Ephesus 
and  Smyrna  and  Troas. 

After  some  years  at  Tarsus  he  returned  to  Jerusalem, 
probably  to  reahze  a  dream  of  becoming  a  rabbi.  He 
made  advances  in  Jewish  learning  and  scholarship  beyond 


34  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

many  of  his  own  age  (Gal.  i :  14).  One  passage  in  Acts 
indicates  that  he  became  a  member  of  the  ruling  council 
of  Jerusalem,  the  Sanhedrin.  This  is  the  implication  of 
the  statement  in  Acts  26:10  that  he  gave  his  vote  for  the 
death  penalty  against  followers  of  Jesus.  He  could  not, 
however,  expect  to  attain  the  title  of  rabbi  until  he  was 
forty  years  of  age.  Meanwhile  he  lived  as  a  Pharisee,  a 
Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews,  an  adept  in  all  the  rabbinical 
discussions  between  the  school  of  Shammai  and  the 
school  of  Hillel. 

There  are  many  traces  in  Paul's  Christian  writings 
of  his  Jewish  Pharisaic  training.  The  argument  of 
Gal.  3:16  based  upon  the  difference  between  the  singular 
and  the  plural  of  the  word  "seed"  shows  the  kind  of 
exegetical  method  which  Paul  learned.  A  similar  in- 
stance is  the  allegory  of  Sarah  and  Hagar  in  the  same 
letter.  A  particularly  interesting  instance  is  Paul's  use 
of  the  Mosaic  law:  "Thou  shalt  not  muzzle  the  ox 
when  he  treadeth  out  the  corn."  Asking  in  I  Cor.  9:9, 
"  Is  it  for  the  oxen  that  God  careth  ?  "  he  betrays  the  fact 
that  he  never  lived  on  a  farm,  and  that  his  youthful 
training  was  rabbinic.  In  the  same  situation  Jesus 
would  have  said :  If  then  God  so  careth  for  the  ox  of  the 
field,  how  much  more  shall  he  care  for  the  shepherds  of 
his  human  flock.  Jesus  more  than  once  showed  an 
interest  in  the  lower  animals.  Paul  gave  little  thought 
to  nature,  animate  or  inanimate. 

A  different  sort  of  survival  of  his  Pharisaic  training 
is  found  in  such  a  passage  as  Gal.  3:19.  The  law,  he 
writes,  "was  ordained  through  angels  by  the  hand  of  a 
mediator."  He  is  quoting  from  rabbinic  tradition  as 
though  it  were  of  equal  authority  with  Old  Testament 


PAUL'S  YOUTH  35 

Scripture.  Another  instance  is  I  Cor.  10:4:  "They 
drank  of  a  spiritual  rock  that  followed  them."  We  look 
in  vain  in  the  Old  Testament  for  such  a  reference,  but 
when  we  turn  to  the  rabbinic  tradition  we  find  the  teach- 
ing that  the  rock  of  Kadesh  followed  the  Israelites  in 
their  wanderings. 

Was  Paul  married  during  these  years  ?  Did  he  ever 
marry  at  all  ?  The  question  is  a  difficult  one.  There 
was  a  rule  that  no  one  could  occupy  the  responsible  posi- 
tion of  member  of  the  Sanhedrin  unless  he  had  been 
married  and  had  a  son.  Moreover,  the  Old  Testament 
reflects  the  importance  which  the  Jews  attached  to  mar- 
riage. The  natural  inference  is  that  Paul  did  marry. 
On  the  other  hand,  Paul  implies  in  some  passages  written 
later  that  he  is  not  married.  In  I  Cor.  7:8  he  writes : 
"I  say  to  the  unmarried  and  to  widows  it  is  good  for 
them  if  they  abide  even  as  I."  When  Paul  wrote 
I  Corinthians  he  certainly  was  not  married.  The  prob- 
able conclusion  is  that  he  had  at  one  time  been  married, 
and  that  at  the  time  of  his  missionary  journeys  he  was 
a  widower.  That  he  had  a  high  conception  of  the 
sanctity  of  marriage  is  indicated  in  many  passages  and 
not  least  by  his  way  of  referring  to  the  church  as  the 
bride  of  Christ. 

Under  the  tutorship  of  his  experience  as  a  Jew,  Paul 
came  to  take  certain  fundamental  positions  which  pre- 
pared him  directly  for  Christian  leadership.  The  dis- 
appointing side  of  the  Jewish  religion  will  be  noted  in  the 
next  chapter  in  speaking  of  influences  leading  toward  his 
conversion.  But  there  were  three  important  respects 
in  which  Paul  retained  as  a  Christian  the  point  of  view 
of  Judaism. 


36  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

1.  The  Jewish  religion  stood  pre-eminently  for  an 
emphasis  upon  purity  and  justice  and  uprightness. 
While  it  is  true  that  the  Jews  had  a  negative  and  legal- 
istic idea  of  righteousness,  which  contrasts  sharply  with 
the  positive  Christian  outpouring  of  self  in  the  service  of 
mankind,  yet  they  had  a  religion  whose  ethical  ideals 
were  head  and  shoulders  above  any  other  religion  of  the 
empire.  If  Paul  had  gone  to  the  school  of  Shammai,  he 
might  have  been  lost  in  the  study  of  ceremonial  refine- 
ments and  distinctions.  But  in  the  school  of  Hillel  and 
Gamahel  he  entered  into  an  ethical  atmosphere  which 
amid  its  dialectic  discussions  did  not  entirely  lose 
sight  of  the  great  utterances  of  the  Hebrew  prophets. 
"Wherewith  shall  I  come  before  Jehovah?  .  .  .  . 
Will  he  be  pleased  with  thousands  of  rams?  .  .  .  . 
What  doth  Jehovah  require  of  thee  but  to  do  justly 
and  to  love  kindness  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy 
God?"     (Mic.  6:6-8.) 

2.  The  Jewish  religion  was  reaching  out  into  all  the 
centers  of  the  empire.  The  Pharisees  had  already  under- 
taken a  world-wide  propaganda.  At  Jerusalem  Paul 
would  see  evidences  of  this  international  and  cosmo- 
politan character  of  Judaism.  At  Passover  time  he 
would  notice  merchants  and  scholars  from  Greece  or 
from  Alexandria  worshiping  beside  peasants  from  Galilee 
or  tentmakers  from  Ephesus.  The  list  of  the  Passover 
pilgrims  in  Acts  2 : 9-1 1  is  suggestive  of  the  atmosphere  in 
which  Paul  lived.  "Parthians  and  Medes  and  Elamites, 
and  the  dwellers  in  Mesopotamia,  in  Judea  and  Cappa- 
docia,  in  Pontus  and  Asia,  in  Phrygia  and  Pamphylia,  in 
Egypt  and  the  parts  of  Libya  about  Cyrene,  and  so- 
journers from  Rome,  both  Jews  and  proselytes,  Cretans 


PAUL'S  YOUTH  37 

and  Arabians,"  all  were  present  in  Jerusalem  together. 
Many  of  them  stayed  for  study  or  business  and  formed 
synagogues  such  as  those  listed  in  Acts  6:9.  Paul  would 
naturally  belong  to  a  synagogue  of  the  Cilicians. 

3.  Paul's  education  gave  him  a  firm  conviction  of  the 
truth  of  monotheism.  No  other  religion  preached  so 
effectively  the  doctrine  that  God  is  one,  that  he  created 
the  universe  and  holds  it  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand.  The 
Jewish  religion  was  a  standing  protest  against  the  already 
crumbhng  polytheism  of  the  nations. 

In  his  Jewish  career  Paul's  soul  was  fired  with  these 
three  ideas,  ethical  purity,  the  world-wide  destiny  of  the 
worship  of  Jehovah,  and  its  displacement  of  all  other 
religions.  The  first  led  him  later  to  despair  of  perfectly 
keeping  the  law;  the  second  caused  him  to  be  deeply 
moved  by  the  Hellenistic  message  of  Stephen;  the  third 
prompted  him  to  persecute  Christians.  He  has  been 
called  a  great  volcano.  One  of  the  chief  points  of  dispute 
in  the  school  of  Hillel  was  the  question  whether  all  kinds 
of  fire  are  the  same.  However  we  decide  the  technical 
question,  it  is  true  that  the  same  volcanic  fire  which  in 
Paul's  Jewish  days  burst  forth  in  streams  of  destructive 
lava,  afterward,  when  brought  under  the  control  of 
Christ,  furnished  warmth  and  life  and  light  to  a  world 
that  was  seeking  after  God  if  haply  they  might  find  him 
(Acts  17:27). 

4.    Paul's  personal  traits 

There  were  contrasts  in  Paul's  character.  The 
world's  leaders  have  often  been  men  in  whom  contending 
forces  have  struggled  for  mastery.  The  more  powerful 
the  forces  have  been,  the  more  powerful  has  been  the 


38  THE  LIFE  OF  PAXJL 

resultant  man  who  has  yoked  them  together  in  the 
interest  of  one  great  new  cause. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  Paul  was  both  Jew  and  Roman. 
Although  he  was  a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews,  he  was  born 
a  Roman  citizen.  There  were  those  like  Herod  the 
Great  who  were  Roman  citizens  but  were  not  pure 
Jews.  There  were  those  like  most  of  the  apostles  who 
were  pure  Jews  and  not  Roman  citizens.  There  were 
those  like  Lysias,  the  chief  captain  at  Jerusalem,  who 
had  "with  a  great  sum  obtained  this  citizenship."  But 
Paul  was  of  the  tribe  of  the  beloved  Benjamin  and  a 
"Roman  born."  This  unusual  combination  contributed 
to  his  power  of  interpreting  the  gospel  of  Jesus  to  the 
world.  His  Jewish  determination  and  perseverance, 
joined  mth  his  Roman  world-inclusive  vision  of  Christ's 
mission,  carried  him  from  city  to  city  till  he  met  his 
death  at  the  capital  of  the  empire. 

2.  Paul  was  both  a  scholar  and  a  laboring  man. 
Some  biographies  of  Paul  exult  in  picturing  him  as  the 
greatest  Christian  philosophical  theologian;  others  point 
democratically  to  the  fact  that  he  was  a  man  who  earned 
his  living  by  manual  toil.  He  was  both.  He  did  study 
at  Jerusalem  with  Gamaliel,  probably  also  at  the  uni- 
versity in  Tarsus.  He  had  points  of  likeness  with 
Philo  and  with  Seneca.  He  quoted  Greek  literature 
at  Athens.  He  understood  Greek  philosophy.  He  had 
constructive  genius  for  formulating  the  principles 
of  Christian  thought.  On  the  other  hand  he  worked 
"night  and  day"  at  his  trade  of  tent-making  to  sup- 
port himself.  He  repeatedly  found  himself  in  prison. 
He  was  distinctly  a  man  among  men,  a  man  of  the 
people.     The  pages  of  his  letters  remind  us  continually 


PAUL'S  YOUTH  39 

that  he  was  not  a  system  or  a  theology,  but  a  power 
and  a  life. 

3.  Paul  was  both  a  religious  ascetic  and  a  cosmo- 
politan leader.  The  monks  in  the  secluded  cloisters  of 
the  Middle  Age  monasteries  claimed  him  as  their  model. 
Modern  missionaries  who  travel  around  the  world  also 
point  to  him  as  the  pioneer  missionary.  Paul  buffeted 
his  body  and  brought  it  into  subjection  like  any  monk. 
He  went  away  into  Arabia  to  meditate.  He  was  caught 
up  even  to  the  third  heaven  and  heard  unspeakable 
words.  But  he  came  down  again  and  spoke  very  plain 
words  which  brought  men  nearer  God.  The  man  who 
was  capable  of  intensive  communion  with  God  "in 
Paradise"  was  the  very  man  who  when  awakened  to  a 
world-wide  responsibihty  had  almost  unhmited  power 
in  uplifting  his  fellow-men. 

4.  Paul  combined  physical  weakness  with  physical 
strength.  He  suffered  under  great  bodily  handicaps. 
We  cannot  tell  just  what  they  were,  but  we  know  that 
his  power  "was  made  perfect  in  weakness."  He  used 
one  attack  of  illness  as  an  opportunity  to  preach  to 
those  who  would  not  otherwise  have  heard  his  message 
(Gal.  4:13).  In  n  Cor.  12:7  he  speaks  of  a  "thorn  in 
the  flesh,  a  messenger  of  Satan  to  buffet  me."  Many  are 
the  explanations  of  this  thorn.  The  older  view  that  his 
eyesight  was  bad  was  based  mainly  upon  the  statement 
in  Gal.  4:15  that  the  Galatians  would  have  plucked  out 
their  eyes  and  given  them  to  him.  But  the  reference 
there  is  probably  only  to  giving  up  their  most  valued 
possession.  Among  the  various  explanations  the  view 
which  most  nearly  fits  Paul's  references  is  that  under 
special  excitement  he  was  subject  to  sudden  attacks  of 


40  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

violent  headache  or  dizziness,  or  even  fainting.  The 
thorn  was  given  him,  he  says,  in  order  that  he  "should 
not  be  exalted  overmuch." 

Yet  Paul  endured  physical  hardships  which  today 
seem  incredible.  On  five  different  occasions  he  received 
thirty-nine  stripes,  and  on  three  occasions  he  was  beaten 
with  rods.  At  Lystra  he  was  stoned  and  left  for  dead. 
At  least  four  times  he  suffered  shipwreck.  Once  he 
floated  about  on  a  bit  of  wreckage  twenty-four  hours. 
Roman  prisons  were  neither  comfortable  nor  sani- 
tary. Hunger  and  thirst  and  cold  added  their  physical 
effects.  Paul  never  spared  himself.  A  tourist  who  to- 
day tries  to  visit  all  the  scenes  of  Paul's  activity  is 
surprised  at  the  mere  distances  he  covered,  especially 
in  view  of  the  comparative  laboriousness  of  ancient 
travel. 

Closely  allied  with  this  contrast  of  weakness  and 
strength  is  the  contrast  between  his  care  of  his  body  and 
his  disregard  of  it.  His  letters  are  full  of  the  athletics  of 
his  day.  He  uses  metaphors  from  wrestling  and  from 
racing  and  in  general  from  the  Greek  games  and  from 
the  crowning  of  the  victors.  On  the  other  hand  he  said 
that  the  spirit  was  superior  to  the  body.  He  was  ''of 
the  earth,  earthy,"  yet  his  "eternal"  spirit  was  akin  to 
God.  He  said  to  his  converts:  "Ye  are  not  in  the  flesh 
but  in  the  spirit"  (Rom.  8:9).  His  body  was  only  a 
temporary  servant  of  his  spirit.  Paul  lived  in  eternity. 
He  showed  men  the  way  of  rising  superior  to  all  earthly 
and  physical  handicaps  into  an  exalted  Hfe  of  the  soul. 

5.  Paul  was  a  pacifist  and  a  vigorous  fighter.  Peace 
and  reconciliation  are  among  his  greatest  words.  His 
nature  seems   at   times   to   have   been   an   extremely 


PAUL'S  YOUTH  41 

tender  one.  When  he  wrote  a  severe  letter  to  the 
Corinthians  it  cost  him  many  tears,  as  he  tells  in  II  Cor. 
2:4.  But  he  wrote  it  nevertheless.  He  often  speaks 
affectionately  of  his  converts  as  his  beloved  children.  In 
his  letter  to  the  Philippians  he  reveals  how  deeply  he 
loved  them.  In  I  Cor.  13  is  the  great  poem  on  Chris- 
tian love.  Love  is  not  provoked,  taketh  not  account 
of  evil. 

Yet  Paul  asks  those  same  Corinthians:  "Shall  I 
come  unto  you  with  a  rod,  or  in  a  spirit  of  gentleness  ?" 
In  II  Cor.  10-13  we  can  almost  hear  the  roar  of  cannon. 
"If  I  come  again  I  will  not  spare."  His  irony  and  satire 
in  the  eleventh  chapter  are  sharp,  like  a  two-edged 
sword.  In  Galatians  his  fighting  spirit  can  be  felt  on 
every  page.  "Henceforth  let  no  man  trouble  me." 
Paul  never  fought  for  personal  advantage,  nor  does  he 
ever  express  hatred  of  his  enemies.  We  feel  rather  that 
he  is  full  of  love  toward  those  whom  he  must  fight  in  the 
interest  of  Jesus'  gospel  of  freedom  and  brotherhood. 
Yet  the  same  man  who  spoke  of  the  "peace  of  God 
which  passeth  understanding"  and  who  said  "love  suf- 
fereth  long,"  also  said,  "Put  on  the  whole  armor  of 
God." 

6.  Greatest  of  all  contrasts  in  Paul's  nature  was  the 
combination  of  lowliness  and  exaltation.  At  times  he 
was  so  timid  that  he  preached  "in  fear  and  much  trem- 
bling" (I  Cor.  2:3).  At  times  he  felt  his  human  frailty 
so  keenly  that  he  cried,  "Oh  wretched  man  that  I  am." 
When  his  efforts  to  save  men  seemed  to  fail  he  felt  "per- 
plexed" and  "smitten  down"  (II  Cor.  4:9).  We  have 
not  only  his  words,  "I  am  the  least  of  the  apostles" 
(I  Cor.  15:9),  but  also  his  description  of  the  apostles  as 


42  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

"men  doomed  to  death"  in  the  arena  as  an  amusement 
and  "a  spectacle  unto  the  world."  At  Ephesus  he 
"despaired  even  of  life"  (II  Cor.  i:8).  He  was  often 
in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death. 

On  the  other  hand,  as  at  Tarsus  in  his  boyhood  he 
had  climbed  the  foothills  for  a  view  of  the  Great  Sea,  so 
in  his  Christian  life  he  was  led  of  the  Spirit  into  exceeding 
high  mountains.  He  saw  the  spiritual  kingdoms  of  the 
world.  After  his  experience  of  visiting  the  third  heaven 
he  could  think  of  the  earth  as  his  footstool.  To  the 
Jews  he  was  a  Jew,  to  the  Greeks  a  Greek.  By  the 
Galatians  he  was  received  as  an  "angel  of  God"  (Gal, 
4:14).  The  men  of  Lystra  thought  that  he  was  a  god 
come  to  earth  (Acts  14: 11).  He  was  not  a  whit  behind 
the  "  very  chief  est  apostles  "  (II  Cor.  11:5;  12:11).  He 
was  "more  than  conqueror"  (Rom.  8:37).  The  streets 
and  walls  of  Tarsus  dissolved  in  his  glorified  vision  into 
the  landscapes  and  ages  of  the  universe.  He  was  no 
longer  Paul  of  Tarsus.  He  was  an  "ambassador"  of 
God  to  propose  terms  of  "peace"  and  "reconciliation" 
to  a  ravaged  and  yearning  humanity. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READING 

1.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  pp.  29-39. 

2.  Kent,  Work  and  Teachings  of  the  Apostles,  pp.  68-75. 

3.  Deissmann,  St.  Paul,  pp.  57-83. 

4.  Gilbert,  Student's  Life  of  Paul,  pp.  1-26. 

5.  Conybeare  and  Howson,  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  chap,  ii, 

6.  Farrar,  Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  chap.  iii. 

7.  Bacon,  The  Story  of  St.  Paul,  pp.  13-33. 

8.  Cone,  Paul  the  Man,  the  Missionary,  and  the  Teacher,  pp.  3-52. 

9.  On  Tarsus,  Ramsay,  Cities  of  St.  Paul,  pp.  85-244. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  CALL  TO  SERVICE  AMONG  THE  NATIONS 

1.  The  Preparation 

(i)  Rom.  7:7-10;  Gal.  3:10  ^ 

(2)  Acts  7: 55 — 8:1;  22:20 

(3)  I  Cor.  15:9;  Gal.  1:13,  23;   Phil.  3:6;  Acts  8:1-3; 
22:4,  5,  20;  26:9-11 

2.  The  Vision 

IICor.4:6;  ICor.  15:8;  9:1;  Gal.  1:15-17;  Rom.  1:5; 
Acts  9:1-19;  22:5-16;  26:12-18 

3.  The  Significance  of  the  Vision 

Rom.  7:24,  25a;    Rom.  1:5;     Gal.  1:16;    Acts   9:15; 
22:15;  26:16-18 

I.      THE   PREPARATION 

While  Paul  was  still  a  "young  man"  certain  in- 
fluences and  events  combined  to  produce  a  most  momen- 
tous revolution  in  his  soul.  He  gives  many  hints  of  the 
preparatory  forces  leading  toward  the  transition.  He 
tells  the  Galatians  in  Gal.  1:15  that  God  had  intended 
him  from  his  birth  to  become  his  messenger  to  the 
Gentiles.  In  the  same  passage  he  says  that  God 
revealed  his  son  "in"  him.  Similarly,  in  II  Cor.  4:6 
he  says  that  the  light  "shined  in  our  hearts."  The 
words  of  Acts  26: 14,  "It  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against 
the  goad,"  suggest  the  persistence  and  effectiveness  of 
special  goading  influences  of  which  he  was  but  dimly 
conscious  as  the  time  of  his  awakening  drew  near. 

There  is  a  clear  difference  between  a  transition  in  the 
soul  and  the  first  conscious  realization  that  it  is  occurring 

43 


44  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

or  has  occurred.  The  transition  itself  may  be  a  gradual 
process.  The  realization  may  be  as  sudden  as  a  flash 
of  lightning,  and  may  reveal  the  slowly  traveled  road 
as  an  instantaneous  landscape  view.  The  revealing 
flash  may,  moreover,  at  the  same  time  fire  an  accumu- 
lated mass  of  highly  inflammable  and  even  explosive 
material.  Three  classes  of  such  material  are  discernible 
in  Paul's  pre-Christian  life. 

I.  Disappointment  with  the  Jewish  law. — Chapter  7 
of  Romans  contains  the  record  of  an  intense  personal 
struggle.  From  his  boyhood  Paul  had  thought  of  the 
Jewish  law  as  a  splendidly  complete  and  accurate  tabu- 
lation of  what  a  man  must  do  in  order  to  be  saved.  A 
bright  halo  had  gathered  around  it.  Then  came  the 
day  in  his  youth  when  he  first  became  conscious  of  the 
commandment,  "Thou  shalt  not  covet."  The  fact  that 
coveting  was  forbidden  made  him  interested  in  it. 
Everyone  knows  the  experience.  He  began  involun- 
tarily to  hunt  around  for  the  objects  which  he  ought 
not  to  covet.  The  commandment  wrought  in  him  "all 
manner  of  coveting." 

All  of  pure. 

Noble,  and  knightly  in  me  twined  and  clung 

Round  that  one  sin. 

It  was  but  a  sample  of  the  effect  of  the  law  in  general 
upon  him.  From  his  coveting  of  his  neighbor's  goods  he 
argued  that  on  the  basis  of  the  law  he  must  class  himself 
as  a  sinner.  The  heavy  negativeness  of  the  law  weighed 
him  down.  The  sunshine  went  out  of  his  life.  His 
own  words  are,  "I  died."  From  that  time  he  never 
knew  the  full  joy  of  living  until  he  had  the  vision  of 
Christ  risen  from  the  dead. 


CALL  TO  SERVICE  AMONG  NATIONS  45 

While  studying  in  Jerusalem  he  must  have  wrestled 
repeatedly  with  this  problem.  Some  rabbis  taught  the 
consoling  doctrine  that  if  51  per  cent  of  a  man's  deeds 
were  good,  the  49  per  cent  of  evil  would  be  overbalanced, 
and  ultimate  salvation  would  be  sure.  But  in  his  care- 
ful, agonizing  search  he  concluded  that  one  who  relies 
upon  law  to  save  him  must  keep  the  "whole  law" 
(Gal.  5:3).  On  the  basis  of  law,  what  James  teaches 
(2 :  10)  seemed  to  Paul  to  be  his  own  poignant  experience, 
that  whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole  law  and  yet  stumble 
in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all  (cf.  Gal.  3 :  10).  And  he 
felt  that  his  own  experience  must  be  typical  of  all  other 
men's.  "There  is  none  righteous,  no  not  one."  There- 
fore by  the  works  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified. 
His  experience  under  law  was  disappointing  both  in  its 
personal  effect  upon  his  soul  and  in  his  rabbinic  failure 
to  find  a  theoretic  system  of  salvation. 

This  was  about  to  induce  him  to  cast  off  the  whole 
external  literalistic  interpretation  of  the  law.  The 
command  "Thou  shalt  not  covet"  cannot  be  inter- 
preted in  terms  of  external  deed.  It  is  an  inward  and 
spiritual  command.  Perhaps  he  began  to  feel  that  this 
was  a  key  to  the  only  possible  attitude  toward  the  law 
as  a  whole.  If  the  law  is  a  unity  and  if  part  of  the  law 
is  spiritual,  then  the  only  thoroughly  consistent  con- 
clusion is  that  the  whole  law  is  to  be  interpreted,  not 
as  a  contract  to  be  externally  observed  in  payment 
of  the  price  of  salvation,  but  as  an  inward  guide  to 
a  godly  life  of  the  soul.  When  Paul  first  heard  of  the 
followers  of  Jesus,  or  at  least  during  his  continued 
persecution  of  them,  he  must  have  learned  that  Jesus 
exalted  the  spirit  above  the  letter  of  the  law.     Perhaps 


46  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

even  then  he  began  to  perceive  "that  the  law  is 
spiritual"  (Rom.   7:14). 

2.  Stephen's  vision. — Paul  was  a  Hellenistic  Jew.  He 
was  born  outside  of  Palestine  in  the  larger,  freer  atmos- 
phere of  the  Hellenistic  world.  ,  When  he  came  to  Jeru- 
salem to  attain  that  highest  Jewish  honor  of  becoming 
a  rabbi  he  must  have  found  the  prevaihng  attitude  of 
Jerusalem  toward  the  rest  of  the  empire  somewhat 
narrow  and  provincial.  As  a  Pharisee  he  tried,  perhaps 
with  utmost  sincerity,  to  be  whole-hearted  in  his  loyalty 
to  the  Jewish  system,  to  think  of  Jerusalem  as  the  center 
of  the  world,  to  hold  that  when  the  messianic  age 
appeared  all  other  nations  would  be  humiliated  except 
in  so  far  as  they  had  accepted  the  Pharisaic  regulations 
and  become  Jewish  proselytes. 

Perhaps  he  was  not  entirely  successful  in  adjusting 
his  wider  experiences  to  the  narrow  view.  Perhaps  he 
began  to  wonder  about  the  fate  of  some  of  his  gentile 
classmates  and  friends  in  Tarsus  and  Cilicia.  It  may 
be  that  some  seeds  which  Gamaliel  had  sown  found 
particularly  fertile  soil  in  Paul's  mind.  It  is  in  con- 
nection with  the  broader  Hellenistic  side  of  Paul's  nature 
and  training  that  the  incident  of  Acts,  chap.  7,  is  es- 
pecially significant. 

We  can  hardly  overestimate  the  direct  effect  on  Paul 
of  Stephen's  heroic  martyrdom.  Luke  twice  indicates 
the  coimection,  first  by  saying  that  the  witnesses  laid 
down  their  garments  at  Paul's  feet,  and  secondly  by 
stating  that  Paul  "was  consenting "  to  his  death.  More- 
over, who  can  doubt  that  Luke,  who  was  of  course  not 
present  at  the  stoning,  received  at  least  a  partial  account 
of  it  at  some  later  day  from  the  lips  of  his  travehng  com- 


CALL  TO  SERVICE  AMONG  NATIONS  47 

panion  Paul  himself  ?  When  Luke  paints  his  picture  of 
Stephen's  angelic  face  reflecting  the  glory  of  the  opened 
heavens  and  the  Son  of  Man  standing  on  the  right  hand 
of  God  he  probably  paints  from  the  palette  of  Paul's 
glowing  memories.  Tennyson  finely  expresses  Stephen's 
look— "God's  glory  smote  him  on  the  face."  Nor  was 
it  any  ordinary  experience  for  Paul  to  hear  a  mobbed 
man  courageously  calling  with  a  loud  voice,  "Master, 
lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge." 

Strikingly  suggestive  also  is  Luke's  statement  in 
Acts  6:9  that  certain  of  the  Jews  from  "Cilicia"  had 
been  disputing  with  Stephen.  Was  Paul  one  of  those 
who  "were  not  able  to  withstand  the  wisdom  and  spirit 
by  which  he  spoke?"  Stephen,  as  his  Greek  name 
indicates,  was  undoubtedly  a  Hellenistic  Jew  like  Paul 
himself.  What  was  the  new  teaching  which  Stephen 
defended  so  ably?  It  was  of  course  primarily  that 
Jesus  was  the  Christ.  But  the  criminal  accusation 
brought  against  him  was  that  he  spoke  against  Moses 
and  the  law  and  prophesied  that  the  Temple  and  its 
ceremonies  would  pass  away.  The  burden  of  the  long 
speech  which  Luke  ascribes  to  him  was  that  the  exclusive- 
ness  and  cruel  haughtiness  of  the  Jewish  leaders  was  in 
direct  opposition  to  God  and  his  Holy  Spirit.  Two  of 
Paul's  fundamental  theses  as  a  Christian  were  later 
transfigurations  of  these  two  propositions,  first  that  the 
law  was  done  away,  and  secondly  that  the  Jew  could 
not  claim  superiority  to  the  rest  of  "the  earth." 

Stephen's  pictured  vision  of  the  opened  heavens  and 
the  exalted  Christ,  following  upon  his  declaration  of  the 
passing  of  the  Mosaic  law  and  of  the  coming  of  a  dis- 
pensation of  the  Holy  Spirit,  was  a  pattern  for  Paul's 


48  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

vision  on  the  Damascus  road.  But  the  great  apostle 
was  still  unmoved.  To  revert  to  the  figure  of  Acts, 
chap.  26,  he  was  still  kicking  against  the  goad. 

3.  Persecuting  the  Christians. — The  reasons  for  which 
Paul  "persecuted  the  church  of  God  and  made  havoc  of 
it"  center  around  his  position  as  a  Pharisee.  While  the 
antagonism  between  Jesus  and  the  Pharisees  has  per- 
haps sometimes  been  overdrawn,  still  as  a  zealous  and 
ambitious  Pharisee  Paul  would  be  quickly  aroused  by 
any  criticism  or  revision  of  the  law  of  Moses.  He  was 
naturally  angered  by  an  accusation  that  his  fathers  had 
"killed"  the  prophets.  Still  higher  in  the  scale  of 
blasphemy  was  the  Christian  teaching  that  God  had 
rejected  the  Pharisees  and  that  the  magnificent  temple 
ritual  was  to  be  done  away.  Finally,  as  the  climax  of  it 
all,  this  new  sect  claimed  that  the  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
who  called  the  Pharisees  hypocrites  was  the  long-hoped- 
for  Messiah,  God's  anointed  King  of  Israel.  Following 
or  supporting  a  false  Messiah  was  a  crime  punishable  by 
death.  Paul's  hatred  was  kindled  by  the  Christian 
exclusion  of  the  Pharisees  from  heaven,  while  his  deter- 
mined program  of  persecution  was  sustained  by  what 
seemed  to  him  a  meritorious  loyalty  to  the  traditions  of 
his  fathers.  Christians  were  in  a  sense  traitors  to  the 
law  and  the  Temple. 

During  his  persecution  Paul  saw  much  of  the  Chris- 
tian spirit.  He  probably  saw  more  than  any  other 
unbaptized  man.  He  saw  the  disciples  at  the  times 
when  their  faith  was  on  trial,  when  he  shut  them 
up  "in  prisons,"  when  he  gave  his  vote  against  them, 
when  he  strove  to  make  them  blaspheme.  Moreover, 
"entering  into  every  house"  he  must  have  seen  them 


CALL  TO  SERVICE  AMONG  NATIONS  49 

in  the  midst  of  their  Christian  worship  and  brotherly 
service. 

The  Christian  rite  of  baptism,  of  which  he  must  have 
known,  symbolized  the  washing  away  of  sin.  It  was  far 
more  impressive  than  the  ceremonial  washings  of  the 
Jews  which  were  performed  in  fulfilment  of  laws  of 
purification.  Christian  baptism  symbolized  a  freeing 
of  the  soul  from  evil  deeds  and  evil  thoughts.  Paul's 
experience  with  law  and  the  sense  of  sin  which  it  created 
prepared  him  for  an  appreciation  of  this  cleansing  rite. 
Later  on,  in  Rom.  6:3,  4,  he  speaks  of  baptism  as  sym- 
boHzing  death  and  burial  with  Christ  leading  to  a  rising 
with  him  in  newness  of  life.  If  Paul,  as  he  expresses  it, 
had  already  "died"  under  the  law  even  while  the  tre- 
mendous inertia  of  his  powerful  soul  kept  him  still 
fighting  for  it,  the  Christian  symbol  of  baptism  with  its 
suggestion  of  dying  and  rising  again  would  make  a  strong 
appeal. 

Often  Paul  must  have  stumbled  upon  the  common 
meal  which  the  Christians  celebrated  in  memory  of 
Christ's  Last  Supper.  There  he  found  the  poor  and  the 
well-to-do  gathered  round  a  common  table.  This  Chris- 
tian "love  feast,"  as  they  called  it,  stood  for  the  brother- 
hood and  equality  which  is  in  Christ.  There  was  no 
distinction  between  one  Christian  and  another.  Cer- 
tainly in  theory,  if  not  always  in  practice,  this  common 
repast  symboHzed  that  larger  brotherhood  of  man  for 
which  Stephen  had  died  and  which  Paul  of  Tarsus,  the 
Roman  citizen,  would  feel  belonged  to  the  highest  con- 
ception of  Jehovah's  will  for  man. 

Paul's  active  persecution  of  the  Christians,  resulting 
from  a  combination  of  his  Pharisaic  aspirations  with  his 


50  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

energetic  disposition,  was  carried  on  quite  regardless  of 
the  rumblings  of  the  inner  storm  which  was  about  to 
break.  As  so  fitly  expressed  in  the  story  of  Jean 
Valjean,  he  was  ''doing  an  act  of  which  he  was  no  longer 
capable."  Moreover,  it  is  a  truth  not  confined  to  the 
ministry  of  Jesus  that  a  demon  before  he  is  expelled  from 
a  man  is  particularly  active  during  the  last  moments  of 
occupation.  "Straightway  the  spirit  tare  him  and  he 
fell  on  the  ground  and  wallowed  foaming"  (Mark  9: 20). 
And  so  it  was  that  Paul,  as  Luke  expresses  it,  was  still 
"breathing  threatening  and  slaughter." 

2.      THE   VISION 

The  influences  which  had  been  gathering  around  Paul 
had  produced  as  yet  no  consciously  decisive  impression. 
But  on  that  momentous  journey  from  Jerusalem  to 
Damascus  the  whole  direction  of  his  career  was  changed. 
Occasional  flashes  in  his  letters  illumine  for  us  his  vivid 
memory  of  the  great  event.  Most  suggestive  of  all  are 
the  words  in  II  Cor.  4:6.  The  same  God  who  in  the 
beginning  created  the  light  out  of  the  darkness  of  chaos 
"shined  in  our  (my)  heart"  and  he  saw  "the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ"  radiant  with  "the  glory  of  God." 

This  transforming  vision  which  engraved  "the  face 
of  Jesus"  upon  his  soul  took  place  at  or  near  Damascus 
(Gal.  1:16,  17).  In  the  vision  Jesus  was  revealed  to  him 
as  the  Son  of  God  (Gal.  1:12,  16).  The  experience  was 
sudden,  overwhelming,  revolutionary.  He  had  been 
one  who  "persecuted  the  church  of  God  and  made  havoc 
of  it."  But  "straightway"  after  the  event  he  went 
away  into  Arabia  (Gal.  i :  13,  16,  17).  It  was  a  work  of 
God,  whose  "good  pleasure"  it  was  to  make  the  re  vela- 


CALL  TO  SERVICE  AMONG  NATIONS  51 

tion  (Gal.  1:15).  That  he  had  "seen  Jesus"  is  attested 
by  many  references.  In  I  Cor.  9:1  Paul  asks,  "Have 
I  not  seen  Jesus  our  Lord?"  In  I  Cor  15:8,  in  listing 
the  appearances  of  the  risen  Jesus  to  the  disciples,  he 
writes:  "And  last  of  all  as  to  the  child  untimely  born  he 
appeared  to  me  also."  In  Rom.  1:5  he  says  that  his 
commission  of  apostleship  among  the  nations  was  re- 
ceived through  Jesus  Christ.  In  Phil.  3:12  he  writes 
in  graphic  metaphor  that  he  "was  laid  hold  on  by  Christ 
Jesus"  as  a  prize  is  taken  by  a  victor  in  an  athletic  contest. 
The  Book  of  Acts  contains  three  accounts  of  the 
conversion.  While  two  of  these  are  included  in  speeches 
attributed  to  Paul,  the  details  of  expression  are  best 
regarded  as  the  work  of  the  author  or  his  source.  In 
comparison  with  the  references  in  Paul's  letters  the  Acts 
accounts  are  in  some  ways  disappointing,  as  in  the  omis- 
sion of  any  reference  to  the  face  of  Jesus,  while  on  the 
other  hand  they  contribute  several  additional  items  of 
information,  such  as  that  the  event  took  place  "about 
noon"  (Acts  22:6;  26:13).  The  items  which  are  found 
in  all  three  accounts  may  be  regarded  as  the  most  im- 
portant elements  in  the  Acts  description,  (i)  All  three 
Acts  accounts  record  that  the  event  took  place  on  the 
way  to  Damascus.  (2)  In  all  three  accounts  is  the 
statement  that  there  was  a  light.  Just  how  far  the  light 
affected  the  companions  of  Paul  is  somewhat  uncertain. 
In  chapter  9  a  light  out  of  heaven  shone  "round  about 
him";  in  chapter  22  his  companions  "beheld  the  light" 
which  shone  round  about  Paul;  in  chapter  26  the  light 
shone  round  about  the  companions  also.  In  chapter  9 
the  Hght  apparently  had  no  great  effect  upon  the 
companions  who  "stood"  Hstening  to  the  voice,  while  in 


52  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

chapter  26  the  light  was  so  brilliant  that  they  "were  all 
fallen"  to  the  earth  before  Paul  heard  the  voice.  (3)  All 
three  accounts  state  that  Paul  heard  a  voice  saying,  "I 
am  Jesus."  How  far  this  voice  was  externally  audible 
to  others  is  again  uncertain,  chapter  9  speaking  of  the 
companions  as  "hearing  the  voice,"  and  chapter  22  stat- 
ing that  "they  heard  not  the  voice."  If  Luke  had  been 
asked  by  some  reader  why  he  allowed  such  different 
expressions  to  stand  in  the  accounts,  he  would  per- 
haps have  answered  that  the  companions  heard  what 
Paul  recognized  as  a  voice,  but  they  did  not  hear  any 
words  nor  recognize  it  as  a  voice.  Very  suggestive  in 
this  connection  is  the  statement  of  John  12:29  that  the 
multitude  which  stood  by  when  the  Greeks  came  to 
Jesus  "said  that  it  thundered;  others  said.  An  angel 
hath  spoken  to  him."  (4)  Finally,  all  three  accounts 
indicate  that  it  was  no  mere  appearance  of  a  physical 
man  claiming  to  be  Jesus.  It  was  a  "heavenly  vision" 
(Acts  26:19)  which  Paul  saw. 

These  items  which  Luke  three  times  records  show 
where  he  laid  the  emphasis.  The  indefiniteness  in  regard 
to  the  effect  upon  the  companions  was  due  partly  to 
Luke's  use  of  different  sources,  but  partly  also  to  Luke's 
unconcern  for  minor  details  generally.  The  great  central 
fact  was  that  Paul  was  a  changed  man,  that  one  day  while 
on  a  mission  of  persecution  to  Damascus  a  great  light 
had  suddenly  fallen  upon  him  in  which  he  saw  a  heavenly 
vision  of  one  who  revealed  himself  by  saying,  "I  am 
Jesus,"  and  whom  Paul  straightway  acknowledged  as 
Lord. 

There  are  several  other  items  narrated  in  one  or 
another  of  the  three  accounts.     In  Acts,  chap.  9,  it  is 


CALL  TO  SERVICE  AMONG  NATIONS  53 

stated  that  the  duration  of  the  blindness  was  three  days. 
The  three  days'  fasting,  the  vision  to  Ananias,  the  laying 
on  of  hands  by  Ananias  that  he  might  be  filled  with  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  falHng  of  scales  from  Paul's  eyes — all 
these  are  from  chapter  9.  In  chapter  22  Ananias  is 
represented  as  giving  the  commission  to  Paul:  "Thou 
shalt  be  a  witness  for  him  unto  all  men";  in  chapter  26, 
where  Ananias  is  not  mentioned,  the  commission  is 
naturally  given  as  from  Jesus  himself:  "To  this  end 
have  I  appeared  unto  thee  to  appoint  thee  a  minister  and 
a  witness." 

Paul's  own  statements  taken  together  with  the  state- 
ments which  Luke  gives  in  threefold  form  disclose  the 
essential  heart  of  the  great  event.  Paul,  the  Pharisee, 
the  determined  persecutor  of  the  Christian  church,  was 
suddenly  arrested  near  Damascus  by  a  vision  of  Jesus 
as  the  Son  of  God.  The  vision  was  of  such  a  nature  as 
to  convince  him  that  Jesus  was  alive  and  enthroned  as 
Lord,  the  Son  of  God,  with  power.  God,  through  Christ, 
laid  hold  on  Paul's  soul.  Henceforth  Christ  occupied 
the  center  of  his  consciousness.  "To  me  to  live  is 
Christ." 

The  external  landscape  through  which  Paul  passed 
on  that  momentous  journey  is  in  some  ways  a  commen- 
tary on  the  experience  itself.  It  is  perhaps  fanciful  to 
see  any  direct  connection  between  the  two.  And  yet 
they  belong  together  as  a  frame  belongs  to  a  picture. 

Jerusalem  is  a  barren,  rocky  place  by  nature.  Vege- 
tation is  scanty.  Damascus  is  a  luxuriant  oasis.  To 
the  west  of  it  are  the  mountains  of  Hermon  with  the 
fields  of  snow.  A  copious  river,  fed  by  the  snows  of 
Hermon,  flows  down  into  the  rich  soil  of  the  great  desert 


54  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

and  spends  itself  in  one  prodigal  burst  of  fertility  and 
fruitfulness.  Viewing  the  spot  from  a  nearby  summit, 
the  prophet  Mohammed  said  that  as  he  expected  to 
have  only  once  the  experience  of  entering  paradise  he 
would  stay  outside  this  city. 

Setting  out  from  Jerusalem  along  the  road  to  Damas- 
cus, Paul  first  followed  the  ridge  northward  through 
Judea  and  Samaria,  passing  many  landmarks  of  Israel's 
history.  Then  entering  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  where 
the  caravans  of  the  nations  were  continually  passing, 
he  came  down  to  the  Jordan  just  south  of  the  Sea  of 
GaHlee.  He  crossed  the  Jordan  at  a  depression  of  700 
feet  below  sea-level,  then  entered  the  dark  canyon-like 
gorge  of  the  Yarmuk.  Tediously  in  this  veritable  valley 
of  the  shadow  of  death  he  cHmbed  the  ascending  road 
till  he  quite  suddenly  emerged  upon  the  high  free  plateau 
which  stretched  away  toward  Damascus.  There  at  an 
altitude  of  nearly  3,000  feet,  perhaps  within  sight  of  the 
city  which  bears  a  "new  fruit  every  month"  (cf.  Ezek, 
47:12),  God  touched  his  soul,  showed  him  the  vision, 
and  called  him  to  the  task.  As  the  significance  of  the 
experience  gradually  unfolded  itself  to  him  in  the  hours 
and  days  that  followed,  it  had  three  distinct  elements: 
Christ,  the  nations,  and  his  own  apostleship. 

3.      THE   SIGNIFICANCE   OF   THE   VISION 

I.  The  conversion  was  a  personal  conviction  that 
Jesus  was  alive.  He  had  heard  the  wonderful  tales  about 
the  resurrection,  but  he  had  believed  none  of  them. 
Now  he  was  convinced  that  they  were  true.  Never 
again  did  he  doubt  the  resurrection.  But  not  only  was 
Jesus  alive;  he  was  the  Son  of  God,  object  of  God's 


CALL  TO  SERVICE  AMONG  NATIONS  55 

love,  revelation  of  his  goodness.  All  Paul's  later  Chris- 
tian teaching  gathered  around  this  truth,  that  the 
crucified  Jesus  had  appeared  to  him  in  the  glory  of 
exaltation  to  the  right  hand  of  God.  Even  greater  than 
the  mental  conviction  was  the  spiritual  conviction  of 
hope  for  his  own  soul.  He  who  had  died  under  law 
might  follow  the  guiding  hand  of  Christ  out  of  death 
into  a  new  life  of  spiritual  freedom. 

2.  In  the  conversion  was  included  a  conviction  that 
the  truth  he  had  learned  was  for  all  nations.  They  are 
mentioned  repeatedly  in  Paul's  allusions  (Rom.  1:5; 
Gal.  1:16;  cf.  I  Cor.  9:1;  i5:8ff.)  and  in  all  three 
accounts  of  Acts  (26:17;  9-i55  22:15).  Christ  ap- 
pealed not  merely  to  Paul's  experience  as  a  Jew  seeking 
personal  salvation,  but  also  to  his  Greek  nature  as  a  man 
of  Tarsus.  The  vision  was  no  mere  individual  or  even 
national  affair.  Paul  saw  the  gates  of  the  kingdom 
thrown  wide  open.  Palestinian  Jewish  exclusiveness 
was  gone.  The  promise  to  Abraham  and  to  his  seed  was 
meant  for  Jews  and  Greeks  alike,  for  Barbarians  and 
Scythians  also.  This  picture  of  a  redeemed  and  glorified 
humanity  living  in  a  new  world  of  peace  and  brother- 
hood, this  thought  that  Jesus  and  his  gospel  were  to  be 
preached  among  all  the  nations,  was  the  second  element 
in  the  glory  of  his  vision. 

3.  The  third  element  was  his  own  relation  to  this 
international  destiny  of  the  gospel.  He  was  himself  to 
be  the  instrument  in  God's  hand  of  bringing  about  this 
great  end.  Through  the  risen  Jesus  he  "  received  .  .  .  . 
apostleship  ....  among  all  the  nations"  (Rom.  1:5). 
God's  purpose  in  revealing  his  Son  in  him,  he  writes  in 
Gal.  1:16,  was  "that  I  might  preach  him  among  the 


56  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Gentiles."  "To  this  end  have  I  appeared  unto  thee,  to 
appoint  thee  a  minister  and  a  witness"  unto  the  nations 
"to  open  their  eyes  that  they  may  turn  from  darkness 
to  Hght"  (Acts  26:16-18).  He  was  himself  to  lead  in 
the  spiritual  conquest  of  the  world.  This  was  an  appeal 
to  his  Roman  nature. 

His  apostleship  among  the  nations  did  not,  of  course, 
mean  that  he  was  to  go  exclusively  or  primarily  into 
non- Jewish  circles.  He  was  not  to  go  over  the  heads  of 
the  Jews  of  the  Dispersion  or  to  ignore  them.  On  the 
contrary  his  plan  was  naturally  to  preach  to  the  Jews 
in  the  various  cities  and,  through  conversion  of  them, 
so  to  multiply  his  efforts  that  the  Gentiles  should  be 
brought  into  a  great  international  Christian  organiza- 
tion similar  to  the  powerful  Jewish  one. 

In  the  light  of  his  later  methods  it  is  possible  to 
detect  a  further  and  supreme  element  in  his  thought  of 
his  own  practical  relation  to  the  great  program.  There 
dawned  suddenly  or  gradually  upon  him  a  vision  of  a 
particular  way  in  which  the  international  mission  might 
be  effectively  put  into  operation.  He  saw  the  key  by 
which  the  heavy  door  separating  Jew  from  Gentile  might 
in  Christ  be  unlocked  and  swung  wide  open.  Whether 
he  saw  it  suddenly  on  the  road  to  Damascus,  whether 
it  was  a  primal  cause  and  part  of  his  conversion,  or 
whether  he  searched  it  out  gradually  in  the  later  days 
in  Arabia  or  still  later  in  actual  experience  on  missionary 
journeys  is  not  a  matter  of  vital  consequence.  It  was 
in  any  case  a  primary  element  in  the  making  of  Paul  into 
the  greatest  of  the  apostles.  This  key  he  found  in  the 
peculiar  situation  existing  in  the  synagogues  of  the 
Dispersion. 


CALL  TO  SERVICE  AMONG  NATIONS  57 

In  the  synagogues  throughout  the  world  were  those 
"devout"  men  who  "feared  God,"  as  mentioned  so  often 
in  the  Book  of  Acts.  They  were  eager  to  accept  the 
monotheistic  message  of  Judaism,  but  were  not  willing 
to  obey  Jewish  ceremonial  requirements,  such  as  circum- 
cision and  not  eating  with  Gentiles.  Now  the  gospel  of 
Jesus,  including  all  that  was  good  in  Judaism  and  none 
of  these  objectionable  features,  freed  from  the  Jewish 
atmosphere  of  Palestine  and  carried  through  the  syna- 
gogues of  the  world,  would  quickly  kindle  and  rapidly 
spread  among  that  outer  circle  of  devout  Gentiles  in  the 
synagogues,  and  from  them  would  set  on  fire  the  nations 
of  the  world.  When  this  strategic  advantage  of  the 
gospel  first  flashed  upon  Paul  the  Roman  citizen,  he 
must  have  trembled  with  the  anticipation  of  a  vast 
victory  almost  accomplished. 

The  conversion,  then,  had  its  three  great  parts — the 
personal  conviction,  the  circle  of  the  nations,  and  the 
practical  program.  The  first  was  Jewish,  the  second  was 
Greek,  and  the  third  was  Roman.  The  first  was  related 
to  his  experience  under  law;  the  second,  to  Stephen's 
vision;  and  the  third,  to  his  life  as  a  persecuting  apostle 
of  Judaism. 

The  exaltation  of  heart  and  soul,  which  gradually 
came  o^^er  Paul  after  the  great  vision,  finds  expression 
in  a  multitude  of  ways  in  his  letters.  He  had  been  try- 
ing to  find  his  way  in  the  "darkness"  of  night  and  was 
now  rejoicing  "in  the  light"  of  a  new  dawn.  His 
former  life  was  like  "bondage"  compared  to  the  new 
"freedom."  His  Jerusalem  existence  was  like  that  of 
men  who  are  at  "enmity"  as  compared  with  the  Damas- 
cus experience  of  " reconciliation."     At  Jerusalem  he  felt 


58  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

himself  under  "condemnation,"  and  the  "judgment" 
was  "death,"  but  at  Damascus  he  was  "justified." 
Christ  had  made  "intercession"  and  brought  about  the 
"justification."  He  was  received  by  "adoption"  into 
a  new  family  in  which  Christ  was  the  firstborn  among 
many  brethren.  God  made  a  "new  covenant"  with 
him  very  different  from  the  old  one.  His  were  the 
"riches"  of  God's  "goodness"  and  knowledge.  He  was 
no  longer  alone.  But,  provided  with  a  sure  "breast- 
plate" and  "helmet"  and  a  whole  "armor,"  he  was 
enlisted  in  the  great  new  cause  of  God  among  the  nations 
of  the  world. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READING 

1.  Farrar,  Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  chap.  x. 

2.  Burton,  Saul's  Experience  on  the  Way  to  Damascus  (1896). 

3.  Kent,  Work  and  Teachings  of  the  Apostles,  pp.  75-78. 

4.  Gilbert,  Student's  Life  of  Paul,  pp.  27-41. 

5.  Conybeare  and  Howson,  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  chap.  iii. 

6.  Matheson,  Spiritual  Development  of  St.  Paul,  pp.  22-64. 

7.  Gardner,  Religious  Experiences  of  St.  Paul,  pp.  20-56. 

8.  Bible  for  Home  and  School,  "Acts,"  pp.  99-103. 

9.  Bacon,  The  Story  of  St.  Paul,  pp.  34-67. 

10.  Cone,    Paul    the    Man,    the    Missionary,    and    the    Teacher, 
pp.  53-66. 


CHAPTER  IV 

YEARS  OF  ADJUSTMENT 

1.  In  Damascus  and  Arabia 

Gal.  1:17b,  iSa;    Acts  9:196-25;    26:19,  20;    II  Cor. 
11:32,33 

2.  In  Jerusalem  and  Syria  and  Cilicia 

Gal.  1:18-24;  Acts9:26-3o;  22:17-21 

3.  At  Antioch 

Acts  11: 19-26 

4.  Relieving  the  Famine  at  Jerusalem 

Acts  11:27-30;   12:25  (Gal.  2:1-10) 

I.      IN  DAMASCUS   AND   ARABIA 

In  moments  of  vision  men  see  far-reaching  ambitions 
accomplished  on  a  large  scale,  while  the  smaller  details 
of  the  immediate  means  of  accomplishment  may  still  lie 
in  obscurity.  God  "revealed  his  Son"  in  Paul  that  he 
"might  preach  him  among  the  Gentiles."  Yet  after  his 
baptism  by  Ananias,  Paul  hastened  away  into  retire- 
ment. "Straightway  I  conferred  not  with  flesh  and 
blood,"  he  says  (Gal.  1:16),  "but  I  went  away  into 
Arabia."  Moses,  Elijah,  Luther,  Savonarola,  all  knew 
what  it  meant  to  go  away  for  a  while  into  retirement. 
Jesus,  too,  went  away  into  "the  wilderness  "  immediately 
after  his  baptism.  Paul  needed  to  adjust  himself  to  his 
new  situation,  to  think  over  the  meaning  of  his  call  to 
Christian  discipleship  and  to  missionary  leadership.  It 
would  naturally  require  considerable  time  to  formulate 
even  in  a  general  way  the  terms  in  which  he  might  inter- 
pret the  gospel  of  the  Jewish  Messiah  to  the  nations  of 

the  empire. 

59 


6o  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Inasmuch  as  Paul  was  a  man  accustomed  to  city  life, 
it  is  not  impossible  that  he  sought  out  some  city  as  his 
stopping-place  in  Arabia.  Possibly,  too,  he  did  some 
preaching  there  to  test  the  effect  of  his  gospel. 

The  most  marvelous  ruin  of  an  ancient  city  in  Arabia, 
perhaps  the  most  extraordinary  and  unusual  in  the  world, 
is  the  city  of  Petra,  in  Arabia  Petraea,  of  which  Aretas  IV 
(II  Cor.  11:32)  was  king.  Situated  to  the  east  and  south 
of  the  Dead  Sea,  it  has  escaped  very  largely  the  destruc- 
tive visits  of  passing  armies.  Two  rocky  valleys  or 
gorges  cross  each  other  there  at  right  angles.  Temples 
and  other  buildings  were  not  built,  but  hollowed  out  of 
the  sandstone  walls.  Columns,  friezes,  fagades,  gables, 
portals,  were  not  set  in  place,  but  left  in  place  by  carving 
away  the  rock  around  them.  About  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  such  edifices  are  still  in  fairly  good  condition,  many 
of  them  almost  as  good  as  on  the  day  the  artist  finished 
them.  The  "monastery,"  as  it  is  called,  has  a  front 
approximately  150  feet  wide  and  150  feet  high.  How 
instructive,  too,  to  stand  before  a  small  madonna  thus 
carved  into  the  rock  and  in  another  niche  beside  it  a 
similarly  created  cross !  Such  a  place  has  a  great  specu- 
lative interest  as  suggestive  of  where  Paul  may  have  been 
when  in  Arabia. 

Three  years  he  spent  in  Arabia  and  Damascus. 
Since  the  Jews  seem  to  have  been  very  antagonistic  in 
Damascus,  it  is  probable  that  he  spent  the  larger  part 
of  the  time  in  Arabia.  Then  he  went  back  again  to 
Damascus. 

Luke  betrays  no  knowledge  of  the  sojourn  in  Arabia. 
He  narrates  that  Paul  spent  "  certain  days  "  at  Damascus 
and   "proclaimed   Jesus"   in   the   synagogues.     In   all 


YEARS  OF  ADJUSTMENT  6i 

probability  the  preaching  in  the  synagogues  occurred 
after  the  return  from  Arabia,  just  as  in  the  ministry  of 
Jesus  the  wilderness  experience  preceded  his  preaching. 
His  final  departure  from  Damascus  was  hastened 
by  the  intense  hostility  among  the  Jews  of  the  city. 
His  international  vision  threatened  the  religious  su- 
premacy and  prerogative  of  the  Jews.  They  were  only 
too  quick  to  see  it.  As  he  ''increased  in  strength 
they  took  counsel  to  kill  him."  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  his  humiliations.  Up  to  this  time  as  Jew 
and  as  Christian  he  had  been  outwardly  proud  and 
dignified.  Now  he  was  to  learn  that  the  Christian 
strength  is  made  perfect  only  in  endurance.  How  deep 
and  lasting  an  impression  his  first  humiliation  made 
upon  him  is  indicated  not  only  by  the  probability  that 
he  told  Luke  the  details  of  it  (Acts  9:24,  25),  but  espe- 
cially by  the  fact  that  it  is  the  only  persecution  which 
he  himself  gives  with  definite  mention  of  time,  place, 
and  person  in  the  well-known  list  of  his  hardships. 
"Through  a  window  was  I  let  down  in  a  basket  by  the 
wall  and  escaped  his  hands"  (H  Cor.  11:33). 

2.      IN   JERUSALEM   AND   SYRIA  AND   CILICIA 

Concerning  Paul's  visit  to  Jerusalem  at  this  time, 
Paul's  own  words  in  Galatians  are  quite  explicit.  He 
says  in  regard  to  his  gospel:    "Neither  did  I  receive  it 

from  man,  nor  was  I  taught  it After  three  years 

I  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  visit  Cephas  and  tarried  with 
him  fifteen  days.  But  other  of  the  apostles  saw  I  none, 
save  James  the  Lord's  brother"  (Gal.  1:12,  18,  19). 

He  did  not  go  up  to  Jerusalem  to  receive  instruction 
from  the  apostles  as  to  their  idea  of  Jesus'  gospel.     He 


62  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

had  a  program  which  far  exceeded  their  little  plans  for 
winning  the  Jews.  He  was  careful  not  to  be  influenced 
by  them  in  such  a  way  as  to  lose  the  glory  of  his  vision 
or  become  a  merely  second-hand  apostle.  While  they 
were  preaching  as  far  as  Samaria  or  Joppa  he  was  in 
imagination  already  visiting  Cilicia  and  the  realms 
beyond. 

Nevertheless  he  wished  to  make  the  personal 
acquaintance  of  Peter,  the  chief  apostle,  and  of  James, 
the  head  of  the  Jerusalem  church,  Jesus'  own  brother. 
He  tarried  only  fifteen  days.  Luke  states  that  it  was 
Barnabas  who  trusted  Paul  in  the  face  of  the  general 
suspicion,  and  who  introduced  him  to  the  apostles — that 
same  Barnabas  who  afterward  led  the  way  on  the  first 
missionary  journey.  Luke  also  says  that  Paul  preached 
boldly  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  but  this  preaching  could 
not  have  been  very  extended,  since  Paul  writes  (Gal. 
1:22)  that  when  he  came  into  the  regions  of  Syria  and 
Cilicia  he  "was  still  unknown  by  face  unto  the  churches 
of  Judea."  Paul  did  not  wish  to  be  drawn  into  the 
Jerusalem  work.  His  high  vision  held  him  true  to  his 
larger  mission.  The  great  leaders  in  every  age  are  those 
who  see  a  great  goal  and  constantly,  persistently  push 
toward  it.  Paul's  ambition  was  so  large  and  his  con- 
sciousness of  it  and  loyalty  to  it  so  intense  that  he  was 
exalted  above  every  opposition.  While  they  were  seek- 
ing to  kill  him  at  Jerusalem  (Acts  9 :  29)  he  was  listen- 
ing to  those  words  spoken  to  him  in  a  trance  (Acts  22:17, 
21):  "Depart,  for  I  will  send  thee  forth  far  hence  unto 
the  Gentiles." 

He  started.     Tarsus  was  his  goal.     Those  new  friends 
whom  he  would  now,  after  the  example  of  Christ,  call 


YEARS  OF  ADJUSTMENT  63 

"brothers"  accompanied  him  as  far  as  Caesarea.  He 
departed,  probably  by  ship  and  alone  on  his  mission. 
He  was  returning  homeward.  Perhaps  in  Tarsus  itself 
he  would  be  rejected  as  Jesus  was  at  Nazareth.  Yet 
in  his  own  country  of  Cilicia,  which  he  knew  so  well,  he 
would  have  excellent  opportunity  to  develop  his  powers 
in  preaching  the  gospel. 

Imagine  a  Buddhist  student  who  has  come  from  Japan 
to  continue  his  higher  studies  in  an  American  college. 
He  hears  the  call  of  God.  Christ  grips  his  soul.  He  is 
chosen  to  bring  the  oriental  world  into  the  Kingdom. 
The  greatness  of  the  vision  makes  him  a  new  man.  He 
will  spend  a  time  longer  in  studying  the  foundations  of 
Christianity.  Then  he  will  hasten  back  to  Japan.  He 
knows  the  language;  he  is  familiar  with  the  customs;  he 
can  associate  with  the  people  of  his  race  and  tell  them 
directly  and  effectively  his  message  of  a  new  Orient  in 
Christ. 

Even  so  was  Paul  a  power  in  Tarsus  and  Cilicia. 
How  long  he  stayed  in  Tarsus,  whether  he  undertook 
further  studies  in  the  university,  what  success  attended 
his  efforts  in  presenting  the  gospel,  what  friends  he  lost, 
what  others  he  gained,  whether  there  were  times  of  dis- 
couragement and  despair — on  all  these  and  many  other 
matters  the  record  is  silent.  Did  he  sometimes  leave 
his  difficulties  for  a  while  and  climb  up  into  the  heights 
of  those  nearby  Taurus  Mountains  which  he  had  loved 
in  his  boyhood?  When  he  was  upon  the  height  alone 
with  his  God  was  his  vision  renewed?  Did  his  eyes 
fall  upon  a  world  expectant  and  waiting  for  its  redemp- 
tion ?  Did  he  come  back  to  his  task  with  fresh  courage 
and   larger   hope?     Did   he   thus   during   these   years 


64  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

develop  a  spiritual  brawn  and  moral  muscle  which 
should  enable  him  to  perform  those  marvelous  feats  of 
later  years  ? 

In  reckoning  the  number  of  years  he  spent  in  and 
around  Tarsus  we  must  be  guided  by  Paul's  remark  in 
Gal.  2:1,  that  "after  the  space  of  fourteen  years"  he 
went  up  again  to  Jerusalem  with  Barnabas,  taking  Titus. 
This  visit  to  Jerusalem  occurred  after  the  first  missionary 
journey,  as  will  be  explained  on  a  later  page.  If  we 
reckon  the  Antioch  ministry  at  about  two  years  and  the 
first .  missionary  tour  at  two  years,  then  subtract  the 
three  years  spent  in  Damascus  and  Arabia,  we  may  con- 
clude that  he  was  about  seven  years  in  Tarsus  and  the 
neighboring  "regions  of  Syria  and  Cilicia"  (Gal.  1:21). 

There  are  three  further  bits  of  information  which 
may  be  connected  with  these  years,  (i)  His  labors  were 
not  all  in  vain,  for  in  Acts  15:41  we  read  that  "he  went 
through  Syria  and  Cilicia  confirming  the  churches." 
It  must  have  been  a  source  of  joy  to  find  that  the 
churches  he  had  formed  were  still  thriving,  needing  only 
to  be  "confirmed"  in  their  faith.  (2)  In  these  years 
occurred  probably  many  of  the  tests  of  his  faith  which 
he  lists  in  II  Cor.  1 1 :  23-33— shipwreck,  imprisonment, 
flogging,  perils  of  robbers,  perils  in  the  city,  perils  in 
the  wilderness,  cold  and  nakedness,  hunger  and  thirst, 
and  last  but  not  least  the  daily  anxiety  for  the  perma- 
nence of  his  work.  (3)  Reckoning  back  "fourteen  years 
ago"  from  the  time  he  wrote  II  Corinthians  it  becomes 
evident  that  it  was  about  the  middle  of  the  Tarsus 
sojourn  that  Paul  had  the  experience  which  he  describes 
in  II  Cor.  12:2-4.  He  was  "caught  up  into  paradise" 
and  heard  "unspeakable  words."    Just  what  new  revela- 


YEARS  OF  ADJUSTMENT  65 

tion  God  gave  him  he  does  not  state.  But  it  must  have 
included  a  higher,  larger,  clearer  conception  of  the 
majesty  of  Christ  and  of  the  meaning  of  his  own  apostle- 
ship  among  the  nations. 

3.      AT   ANTIOCH 

The  city  of  Antioch,  located  at  the  northeast  corner 
of  the  Mediterranean,  about  fifteen  miles  from  the 
coast,  was  one  of  the  largest  and  proudest  cities  of  the 
empire.  The  river  Orontes  flows  past  the  base  of  Mount 
Silvius.  Protected  on  the  one  side  by  the  river  and  on 
the  other  side  by  the  mountain,  the  city  of  Antioch  grew 
to  be  a  great  center,  not  only  of  political  life  but  of  in- 
dustry and  art.  The  Syrian  kings  from  the  time  of 
Antiochus  IV  had  their  palaces  there.  When  the  Roman 
armies  overran  the  East,  Antioch  bought  its  freedom  by 
payment  of  money  and  the  Roman  governor  took  up 
his  residence  there. 

The  massive  walls  of  the  city  extended  up  over  the 
ridge  of  the  mountain.  From  the  highest  point  one 
can  today  look  down  upon  the  roofs  of  the  modern  city, 
which  has  shrunk  to  such  an  extent  that  it  seems  to  be 
almost  lost  in  the  great  area  inclosed  by  the  ancient  wall. 
There  may  have  been  something  like  half  a  million  people 
in  and  around  the  city.  Josephus  says  there  were  only 
two  larger  cities  in  the  empire,  Rome  and  Alexandria. 
As  we  look  down  upon  those  modern  roofs  we  are  dis- 
appointed not  to  see  any  of  the  polished  marble  columns 
with  which  Herod  the  Great  ornamented  both  sides  of 
the  main  street  for  a  distance  of  some  miles.  At  a  little 
distance  from  the  city  is  ''that  sweet  grove  of  Daphne 
by  Orontes"  {Paradise  Lost,  Book  IV,  1.  272).     This 


66  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

marvelous  little  natural  park,  used  as  the  scene  of  many 
modern  pieces  of  fiction,  was  also  in  antiquity  the  center 
of  much  legend  and  story.  In  Paul's  time  no  doubt 
thousands  came  to  see  the  profusion  of  waterfalls  among 
the  rocks  and  the  trees. 

Fifteen  miles  away  on  the  coast  was  Seleucia,  the 
seaport  of  Antioch.  Here  too  are  eloquent  remains  of 
the  civilization  amid  which  Paul  began  his  first  formal 
missionary  work  There  is  the  great  dam,  built  across 
the  mountain  stream  which  threatened  the  town  during 
sudden,  heavy  storms.  Any  idea  that  Paul  lived  in  an 
antiquated  and  darkened  age  may  be  dispelled  by  an 
inspection  of  this  piece  of  masonry  or  by  climbing  up 
around  behind  the  dam  and  walking  through  the  rock 
tunnel  21  feet  wade  and  21  feet  high,  constructed  to 
carry  away  the  water  which  collected  in  time  of  flood, 
diverting  it  through  the  mountain  and  emptying  it 
into  the  sea  about  1,200  yards  away.  Near  by  is  the 
massive  Roman  pier,  called  "the  pier  of  St.  Paul,"  built 
so  carefully  and  of  such  huge  blocks  of  stone  that  a  large 
section  of  it  still  remains,  running  out  into  the  waves 
of  the  Mediterranean  and  pointing  silently,  steadily  west- 
ward. Upon  these  great  blocks  Paul  may  often  have 
stood  and,  looking  out  to  sea,  have  had  an  earlier,  dimmer 
view  of  the  Macedonian  vision  and  have  heard  men  of 
every  race  saying,  "Come  over  and  help  us." 

The  origin  of  the  Christian  community  in  Antioch  is 
given  in  Acts  11:19,  20.  It  was  the  product  of  two 
influences.  In  the  first  place  we  see  the  effect  of  the 
death  of  Stephen,  that  first  martyr,  who  did  more  in  his 
death  than  in  his  life,  for  the  persecution  served  to 
spread  the  fire  which  was  burning  in  the  hearts  of  the 


YEARS  OF  ADJUSTMENT  67 

early  disciples.  Many  of  them  came  to  Antioch  and 
convinced  the  Jews  there  of  the  messiahship  of  Jesus, 
founding  a  Jewish-Christian  community.  On  the  other 
hand  there  were  some,  men  of  Cyprus  and  Cyrene,  who 
came  to  Antioch  and  spoke  directly  to  "the  Greeks" 
and  persuaded  them  to  accept  the  revelation  of  Jesus. 
While  the  reading  "Greeks"  (vs.  20)  is  not  quite  cer- 
tain, the  context  indicates  a  distinct  Greek  movement 
outside  the  synagogue.  This  movement  among  the 
Greeks,  independent  of  the  Jews,  afforded  a  peculiarly 
practical  opportunity  for  Paul's  universalism  on  a  later 
occasion. 

Meanwhile  the  church  at  Jerusalem,  hearing  of  the 
Christian  activity  in  Antioch,  felt  that  a  leader  should  be 
sent  who  could  give  a  correct  version  of  the  teaching 
concerning  Jesus,  and  who  could  bring  the  new  com- 
munity into  a  bond  of  union  with  the  central  one  at 
Jerusalem.  It  does  not  appear  that  in  sending  Barnabas 
they  were  assuming  official  control  of  the  church  in 
Antioch.  Their  thought  was  rather  to  guide  and  to 
help.  Barnabas  was  wise  and  prudent  and  full  of  the 
Spirit.  Hence  it  was  that  much  people  were  added  unto 
the  Lord  in  Antioch,  and  hence  it  was  that  Barnabas, 
finding  his  hands  full  and  looking  about  for  assistance, 
went  to  Tarsus  to  find  Paul. 

Barnabas'  special  reason  for  wanting  assistance  may 
possibly  have  been  that  the  two  circles  of  Christians  in 
Antioch  created  a  difiiculty  for  him.  At  first  the  Jewish 
Christians  may  have  been  hesitant  about  associating  too 
closely  with  Gentiles,  especially  in  the  eating  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.  There  was  need  of  extreme  tact.  Per- 
haps  at   first   there   would   even   be   scruples   against 


68  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Barnabas  eating  now  with  the  gentile  Christians  and 
now  with  the  Jews.  If  Barnabas  and  Paul  could  work 
together,  Barnabas  more  particularly  with  the  Jews  and 
Paul  more  particularly  with  the  Gentiles,  there  was  every 
reason  to  hope  that  ideals  of  Christian  brotherhood  might 
be  preserved.  Suggestions  of  the  diflSculties  which  might 
arise  we  may  find  in  the  Cornelius  incident  of  Acts, 
chap.  lo,  and  in  the  later  experience  of  Peter  at  Antioch, 
narrated  in  Gal.  2: 11-13. 

Barnabas  had  taken  particular  interest  in  Paul  during 
the  first  visit  of  the  latter  to  Jerusalem  on  the  return 
from  Damascus  (Acts  9:27).  He  saw  in  him  the  pos- 
sibilities of  a  great  leader.  Paul  may  have  told  Barnabas 
that  Christ  had  called  him  that  he  "might  preach  him 
among  the  Gentiles"  (Gal.  1:16).  He  may  have  told 
him  further  of  the  vision  in  the  Temple  (Acts  22: 17,  18) 
and  of  his  commission  of  apostleship  to  "all  the  nations" 
(Rom.  1:5).  All  these  years  Barnabas  had  undoubtedly 
kept  himself  informed  concerning  this  fiery  young  man 
from  Tarsus  who  had  such  remarkable  visions  and  such 
persevering  activity.  He  now  realized  that  Paul  was 
the  one  man  to  help  him  with  the  Greek  half  of  the 
Antioch  responsibility. 

For  a  whole  year  they  worked  together  with  splendid 
success.  For  a  year  Paul  handled  the  problems  of  trans- 
ferring the  Jewish  gospel  to  the  Gentiles.  Perhaps 
under  the  expert  local  advice  of  Barnabas  he  was  able 
to  avoid  mistakes  of  previous  years.  Nowhere  was  the 
Jew-Gentile  problem  more  delicate  than  in  Antioch.  In 
many  other  ways  also  the  year  must  have  been  of  sig- 
nificance to  Paul.  Probably  Barnabas  told  him  much  of 
Jesus  and  the  early  apostles  during  this  time.     Certainly 


YEARS  OF  ADJUSTMENT  69 

their  joint  success  gave  shape  and  reality  to  Paul's 
missionary  ambition  which  was  soon  to  bear  fruit  in  a 
large  and  definite  way. 

A  primary  indication  of  the  success  at  Antioch  is  the 
fact  that  Christians  were  here  first  recognized  as  a  dis- 
tinct and  separate  sect.  Here  for  the  first  time  the 
disciples  were  called  'Christians."  The  form  of  Luke's 
statement,  "were  called,"  shows  that  the  name  was  first 
applied  to  the  company  of  disciples  by  non- Christian 
outsiders.  Much  has  been  written  concerning  the  sig- 
nificance of  this  appellation.  Two  points  are  especially 
noteworthy. 

I.  As  a  distinctive  epithet  the  name  was  of  gentile, 
not  Jewish,  origin.  If  Jews  had  called  the  disciples 
"Christians"  they  would  in  a  way  have  been  admitting 
that  Jesus  was  the  Christ.  The  Jews  in  speaking  of  the 
disciples  would  naturally  call  them  "followers  of  Jesus." 
In  any  case  among  Jews  the  title  "Christians,"  i.e., 
"followers  of  the  Messiah,"  would  not  be  distinctive. 
There  were  and  had  been  many  sects  claiming  for  their 
leaders  the  title  Messiah.  The  reference  might  be  to  any 
of  these.  The  Gentiles,  on  the  other  hand,  were  prob- 
ably familiar  with  only  one  sect,  the  followers  of  Jesus, 
which  held  that  the  Messiah  had  appeared.  It  was 
because  this  particular  messianic  movement  spread 
beyond  the  Jews  that  the  name  "  Christians"  was,  to  the 
Gentiles,  a  new  and  distinguishing  term.  It  probably 
arose  in  immediate  connection  with  Paul's  own  work  in 
Antioch.  When  the  name  later  became  one  of  the  great 
words  of  the  empire  Paul  could  take  no  little  pride  in 
telling  his  comrade  Luke  that  his  Christians  were  the 
first  "Christians"  in  the  world. 


70  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

2.  The  Greek  word  chrestos  ("good,  useful")  was 
pronounced  almost  like  Christos  ("Christ").  "Chris- 
tians" is  found  in  inscriptions  and  elsewhere  spelled 
"Chrestians."  Possibly  the  name  was  originally  a  bit 
of  slang.  Very  likely  it  was  sometimes  used  in  ridicule. 
We  might  approach  the  pun  in  English,  especially  in  a 
time  of  war,  by  slurringly  speaking  of  certain  "sons  of 
the  Revolution"  as  the  "suns  of  the  Revolution."  The 
"Christians"  were  not  merely  those  who  proclaimed 
Jesus  as  the  "Christ";  they  may  also  have  been  the 
"goody-goodies"  of  the  wags  of  Antioch. 

4.      RELIEVING   THE  FAMINE   AT  JERUSALEM 

After  Paul  had  been  in  Antioch  about  a  year,  one 
of  those  prophets  who  were  so  common  in  the  Orient 
predicted  that  the  price  of  grain  was  to  rise  so  high  that 
the  poorer  Christians  at  Jerusalem  would  suffer  unless 
relieved.  Suetonius  speaks  of  these  high  prices  under 
Claudius.  Eusebius  and  others  mention  the  scarcity  of 
food  in  various  localities.  It  was  a  similar  situation  to 
that  caused  by  the  world-war  in  our  own  time.  But 
under  Claudius  the  famine  was  probably  not  as  acute  as 
in  some  localities  in  the  modern  day,  and  was  caused, 
not  by  war  but  by  scarcity  of  rainfall.  It  is  probable 
that  Agabus  either  had  a  wide  knowledge  of  the  food 
situation  or  else  simply  enough  agricultural  common 
sense  to  realize  that  one  or  two  seasons  of  scanty  rain 
meant  scarcity  of  grain.  His  Christian  spirit  prompted 
him  to  declare  the  situation  which  would  arise  in  Jeru- 
salem and  to  urge  preparation  for  relief. 

The  absence  of  any  statement  in  Gal.  i :  18 — 2 :  i 
concerning  any  visit  of  Paul  to  Jerusalem  at  this  time 


YEARS  OF  ADJUSTMENT  71 

constitutes  a  real  difficulty  in  the  Acts  account.  In 
Galatians  Paul  is  saying  how  little  he  had  seen  of  the 
Jerusalem  Christian  leaders.  It  is  hard  to  believe  he 
would  omit  a  visit  in  such  a  recital.  Perhaps  the  fact 
that  Luke  does  not  explicitly  narrate  the  arrival  of  Paul 
personally  in  Jerusalem  and  does  not  narrate  any  experi- 
ence of  Paul  while  there  reflects  an  uncertainty  or  lack 
of  information  on  this  particular  point.  It  seems  best 
to  conclude  that  although  the  responsibility  of  bringing 
relief  was  laid  upon  Paul  and  Barnabas,  and  these  two 
labored  together  in  the  good  work,  nevertheless  Paul 
himself  probably  did  not  go  all  the  way  to  Jerusalem. 

The  significance  of  this  brotherly  help  extended  by 
the  Antioch  church  should  not  be  overlooked.  It  had 
its  larger  importance  along  three  different  lines. 

1.  It  was  the  first  step  toward  internationalizing 
the  fund  administered  by  the  deacons  with  Stephen  as 
chairman.  The  same  word  ''ministration"  is  used  in 
both  cases  (Acts  6:1;  12:25).  It  was  a  broadening  of 
that  early  Christian  idea  of  the  community  of  goods. 
It  was  putting  into  deeds  that  larger  brotherhood  sym- 
bolized in  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  It  was 
the  harbinger  of  that  "ministering"  to  the  saints 
(II  Cor.  9:1)  for  which  Paul  later  gathered  contributions 
from  all  his  churches. 

2.  The  act  paved  the  way  for  exchange  of  good  feeling 
between  the  churches  of  Antioch  and  Jerusalem.  It 
postponed  the  difi&cult  day  of  Acts,  chap.  15,  in  which 
the  question  of  the  relation  of  Jew  and  Gentile  in  Christ 
became  acute.  Every  seed  of  fellowship  planted  now 
yielded  sixty  and  a  hundred  fold  at  that  conference  in 
which  Paul  pleaded  for  the  Gentiles. 


72  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

3.  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  associated  together  in 
this  enterprise.  Who  can  doubt  that  this  in  a  special 
way  hastened  the  larger  missionary  enterprise  upon 
which  they  so  soon  afterward  embarked  ?  The  "rela- 
tionship is  made  still  more  probable  by  the  appearance 
of  John  Mark,  who  joined  them  at  this  time  (Acts  12:25). 

These  twelve  years  we  have  called  years  of  adjust- 
ment. Three  years  of  comparative  seclusion  in  Arabia 
and  Damascus,  seven  years  of  work  in  Tarsus  and  Cilicia, 
a  year  and  probably  most  of  a  second  year  of  inspiring 
success  with  Barnabas  in  Antioch  made  up  the  educa- 
tion by  which  the  converted  Pharisee  became  the 
splendid  leader  who  was  now  about  to  embark  upon 
the  first  great  missionary  adventure.  During  these 
years  the  hot  iron  of  Paul's  nature  had  been  tempered 
into  steel,  and  the  brightness  of  the  glory  of  the  conver- 
sion sobered  by  the  hard  facts  of  persecution  and  in- 
difference. Many  have  felt  that  they  must  think  of  the 
Damascus  vision  as  a  small  one  in  order  to  allow  for  a 
continued  growth  and  expansion  during  these  years. 
But  biography  teaches  that  often  the  inventor,  the  re- 
former, the  pioneer,  see  more  in  a  moment  than  they  can 
accomplish  in  a  lifetime.  Their  vision  is  their  power. 
From  time  to  time  in  the  midst  of  hard  labor  the  vision 
is  renewed.  At  Jerusalem  in  the  Temple  in  a  trance 
Paul  had  heard  again  the  commission,  "I  will  send  thee 
forth  far  hence  unto  the  Gentiles"  (Acts  22:21).  In 
the  midst  of  his  prosaic  labors  around  Tarsus  he  had 
been  at  one  time,  as  already  noted,  "caught  up  even  to 
the  third  heaven"  and  had  "heard  unspeakable  words" 
(II  Cor.  12:2,  4).  Through  all  these  years  he  had  been 
attaining  the  power  to  "turn  the  world  upside  down,"  to 


YEARS  OF  ADJUSTMENT  73 

revolve  the  great  sphere  of  humanity  "from  darkness 
to  light"  and  from  the  night  of  the  "power  of  Satan"  to 
the  dawn  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READING 

1.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  pp.  40-69. 

2.  Kent,  Work  and  Teachings  of  the  Apostles,  pp.  78-80,  85-86. 

3.  Gilbert,  Student's  Life  of  Paul,  pp.  42-68. 

4.  Conybeare  and  Howson,  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  chap.  iv. 

5.  Farrar,  Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  chap.  xi. 

6.  Bible  for  Home  and  School,  "Acts,"  pp.  103-6,  121-24,  130. 

7.  McGiffert,  A   History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age, 
pp.  161-72. 

8.  Bacon,  The  Story  of  St.  Paul,  pp.  68-97. 


CHAPTER  V 

A  CAMPAIGN  WITH  BARNABAS 

1.  Paul's  Plan  of  Advance 

2.  On  the  Island  of  Cyprus 

Acts  13: 1-12 

3.  At  Antioch  in  Pisidia 

Acts  13:13-52 

4.  At  Iconium 

Acts  14:1-6 

5.  At  Lystra  and  Derbe 

Acts  14:6-28;  II  Cor.  11:25 

I.    Paul's  plan  of  advance 

A  study  of  the  record  of  Paul's  missionary  activities 
shows  that  he  pursued  a  definite,  well-thought-out,  and 
far-reaching  policy.  It  was  not  enough  for  him  to 
preach  here  and  there  as  he  found  opportunity.  The 
planting  of  the  new  religion  throughout  the  length  of 
the  Roman  Empire  became  his  all-inclusive  ambition. 
This  involved  four  things. 

I.  One  element  in  his  plan  was  the  selection  of  the 
strategic  points  of  the  empire  as  the  places  of  his  activity. 
There  are  in  our  New  Testament  names  of  many  places 
which  cannot  be  located  with  certainty.  But  the  names 
of  the  cities  where  Paul  worked  stand  out  in  large,  clear 
letters  on  our  maps.  Where  life  was  thickest  and  fastest, 
where  history  was  being  made,  in  the  centers  of  commerce 
and  influence,  he  spent  the  rapid  years  of  his  career. 
The  modern  railroads  touch  these  same  centers.     The 

74 


A  CAMPAIGN  WITH  BARNABAS  75 

extensive  ruins  indicate  that  they  were  far  greater  in 
that  day  than  today. 

2.  After  selection  of  strategic  points  the  next  step  in 
his  plan  was  the  establishment  of  Christian  communities 
in  these  cities  and  the  nourishment  of  them  into  strength 
sufficient  to  enable  them  to  stand  alone.  It  was  not 
enough  to  proclaim  the  message  or  simply  to  gather  a 
group  of  converts.  The  infant  community  must  be 
developed  into  power  and  permanence. 

3.  A  third  item  in  the  program  was  the  leaving  of  the 
surrounding  regions  to  be  reached  from  these  centers. 
Although  he  thought  and  planned  largely  in  terms  of 
provinces,  he  knew  the  big  city  was  the  key  to  the 
province.  Epaenetus  was  the  first-fruits  "of  Asia" 
(Rom.  16:5),  although  he  was  probably  a  convert  of 
Ephesus.  From  Ephesus  the  work  spread,  as  Paul 
plaimed,  into  the  neighboring  cities.  He  personally 
knew  the  man  in  whose  house  the  Christians  met  at 
Laodicea  (Col.  4:15).  Paul's  fellow- worker  Epaphras 
was  a  man  of  Colossae  (Col.  4:12,  13). 

4.  His  plan  involved  the  extension  of  his  own  efforts 
through  Asia  Minor,  Greece,  Italy,  and  even  Spain; 
in  short  the  covering  of  the  empire  from  Jerusalem  west- 
ward with  a  chain  of  churches  located  in  the  strategic 
centers  of  population.  What  the  world  owes  to  this 
farseeing  plan  of  the  apostle  and  the  efforts  that  he 
put  forth  for  its  materialization  taxes  one's  imagination 
to  estimate. 

The  realization  of  this  great  plan  he  felt  as  a  peculiar 
"necessity  laid"  upon  him.  Because  the  vision  had 
been  given  to  him  more  clearly  than  to  any  other  he 
felt  that  he  was  "a  debtor"  to  carry  the  good  news 


76  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

"both  to  the  Greeks  and  to  the  Barbarians."  Although 
he  was  the  "least  of  the  apostles"  and  ''not  worthy  to 
be  called  an  apostle,"  the  clearness  of  his  plan  gave  him 
confidence.  The  glowing  sense  of  his  mission  paralleled 
in  intensity  that  of  any  other  great  benefactor  of  man- 
kind. He  was  a  David  Livingstone,  with  the  height 
and  depth  and  breadth  of  Livingstone's  soul,  sent  not 
to  "darkest  Africa,"  but  to  the  most  enlightened  cities 
of  his  world.  When  Paul  set  out  upon  a  missionary  tour 
with  Barnabas  he  soon  outgrew  his  companion.  Even 
the  young  man  Mark  could  not  keep  pace  with  him,  but 
turned  back  home. 

2.      ON   THE   ISLAND   OP   CYPRUS 

From  the  stone  pier  at  Seleucia,  the  harbor  of 
Antioch,  Barnabas  and  Paul  sailed  forth.  Although 
Luke  narrates  that  they  were  sent  by  certain  men  in  the 
church  at  Antioch,  Paul's  apostleship  does  not  date  from 
this  time.  Paul  was  an  apostle,  ''not  from  men,  neither 
through  man."  His  apostleship  dated  from  his  conver- 
sion. 

Nevertheless  the  Christian  church  was  now  possessed 
of  a  new  spirit.  Luke  begins  here  a  new  section  in  his 
Book  of  Acts.  Thus  far  Christianity  had  been  in  Jewish 
hands.  The  rest  of  the  Book  of  Acts  concerns  the  gospel 
among  the  Gentiles.  These  men,  Barnabas  and  Paul, 
as  they  voyage  away,  introduce  a  new  epoch.  The 
thought  which  we  find  expressed  so  often  in  the  Old 
Testament,  that  the  people  of  Jehovah  should  have  no 
deaHngs  with  the  peoples  of  the  earth,  has  given  way 
to  the  spirit  of  Jesus'  parable  concerning  the  man  who 
hid  his  talent  in  a  napkin.     That  most  vital  difference 


A  CAMPAIGN  WITH  BARNABAS  77 

of  Jesus'  teaching  from  the  teaching  of  the  Jews,  the 
positive  emphasis  upon  the  service  of  humanity,  finds 
deep  and  clear  expression  on  board  that  boat  as  the  pier 
of  Seleucia  fades  away  and  the  mountain  citadel  of 
Antioch  sinks  toward  the  horizon. 

This  first  formal  enterprise  was  not  in  the  nature  of  a 
wild  experiment.  Barnabas  was  himself  a  native  of 
Cyprus,  as  we  learn  from  Acts  4:36.  Moreover,  Acts 
11:19  states  that  the  gospel  had  already  been  preached 
there  by  those  who  had  been  ''scattered  abroad"  at  the 
death  of  Stephen.  Mark  also,  the  cousin  of  Barnabas 
(not  nephew  of  Barnabas,  as  sometimes  translated), 
would  naturally  have  relatives  in  Cyprus,  although  his 
home  was  in  Jerusalem,  where  his  mother  had  a  good- 
sized  house  (Acts  12:12).  This  John  Mark  was  the  same 
man  who  long  afterward  wrote  the  Gospel  of  Mark. 
Whether  he  joined  the  other  two  at  Salamis  or  whether 
he  had  been  with  them  from  Antioch  is  not  quite  clear. 
The  probability  is  that  he  was  with  them  all  along,  and 
that  it  was  because  he  was  not  specially  delegated  by  the 
church  that  he  was  not  mentioned  by  Luke  at  the  start. 

In  the  tour  of  Cyprus  there  are  four  items  of  impor- 
tance. 

1.  The  tour  was  not  a  small  or  hasty  piece  of  work. 
The  voyage  from  Antioch  to  Cyprus,  about  140  miles, 
was  made  in  a  little,  ancient,  wooden  sailing  vessel.  Nor 
was  there  any  modern  railway  to  carry  them  the  100 
miles  which  separated  Salamis  at  one  end  of  the  island 
from  Paphos  at  the  other.  They  went  "through  the 
whole  island." 

2.  Paul's  clash  with  the  sorcerer  at  Paphos  was  a 
typical  experience.     The  early  Christians  had  to  meet 


78  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

and  vanquish  these  men  who  clauned  that  by  charms 
and  witchcraft  they  could  influence  the  destiny  of  men's 
Hves.  Although  there  may  have  been  some  portion  of 
good  medical  knowledge  in  many  a  magician's  outfit,  yet 
his  general  methods  tended  to  make  men  fearful  of  evil 
spirits  at  every  turn  and  any  moment.  It  was  no  small 
part  of  the  mission  of  early  Christianity  to  break  the 
shackles  of  such  superstition  by  convincing  men  that 
the  power  of  the  spirit  of  God  in  Christ  could  raise  them 
above  every  harm  from  any  of  these  sources.  Paul's 
denunciation  checked  this  sorcerer's  career  "for  a 
season"  and  perhaps  ended  his  favor  with  the  pro- 
consul entirely. 

3.  The  impression  made  upon  the  proconsul  Sergius 
Paulus  was  Paul's  first  victory  in  a  purely  Roman  situa- 
tion. The  story  becomes  very  real  after  reading  the 
inscription  found  on  the  north  coast  of  Cyprus  dated 
"in  the  proconsulship  of  Paulus."  Whether  that  digni- 
fied Roman  oflficial  actually  asked  to  have  his  name  added 
to  the  list  of  church  members  or  not,  in  any  case  the 
incident  must  have  proved  a  decided  encouragement  to 
Paul.  His  vision  of  bringing  peoples  throughout  the 
empire  into  the  fold  of  the  Kingdom  received  new  fuel 
and  new  power. 

It  is  probable  that  the  original  plan  of  the  tour  ended 
at  Paphos.  But  with  this  victory  kindling  his  soul  Paul 
could  not  pause.  He  must  press  on  to  further  efforts 
and  further  realization  of  his  plan. 

4.  The  fact  that  Luke  here  stops  calling  Paul  " Saul" 
and  hereafter  uses  the  name  "Paul"  is  of  significance. 
It  is  often  stated  that  Paul  changed  his  name  at  his  con- 
version.    If  this  were  true,  surely  Luke  who  knew  him  so 


A  CAMPAIGN  WITH  BARNABAS  79 

well  would  have  changed  the  name  at  that  point.  Paul 
probably  had  both  names  from  his  boyhood.  In  Tarsus 
his  Jewish  playmates  called  him  Saul  and  his  Roman 
playmates  called  him  Paul.  Luke,  probably  following 
an  Aramaic  source,  in  speaking  of  him  in  Palestine  and 
Syria  uses  the  Jewish  name  Saul.  Up  to  this  point 
Paul  was  to  Luke  a  Jew  looking  out  upon  the  Roman 
world  as  a  possible  field  for  his  labors.  After  the  triumph 
before  the  proconsul  Paul  is  a  Roman.  As  a  citizen  of 
the  world  and  of  the  Roman  Empire  he  now  uses  the 
spirit  of  Christ  which  dwells  in  him  as  a  means  of  giving 
life  and  light  to  that  great  world  of  which  he  is  a  citizen. 
From  now  on  in  Luke's  narrative,  and  probably  also 
as  a  fact  of  history,  Paul  forgets  that  he  is  Saul,  except 
when  he  tells  the  story  of  his  conversion. 

Paul  was  impatient  to  proceed.  How  long  he  stayed 
on  the  Island  of  Cyprus,  whether  the  three  visited  the 
home  of  Barnabas  and  how  long  they  tarried  there, 
whether  Barnabas'  home  was  in  the  city,  or  whether 
he  came  from  the  country  and  so  was  less  familiar  with 
the  big  cities  than  Paul — to  none  of  these  questions  is 
there  any  answer.  Luke  is  true  to  the  newly  fired  eager- 
ness of  Paul  in  hastening  over  all  details  and  carrying 
his  readers  away  from  the  island  which  was  the  home 
of  Barnabas  to  stranger  scenes  and  more  difficult  experi- 
ences. The  spirit  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  spirit  of 
unbounded  and  untiring  service,  has  been  reincarnated 
in  Paul  the  Roman  citizen. 

3.      AT   ANTIOCH   OF   PISIDIA 

"Barnabas  and  Saul"  had  visited  Cyprus.  But  it 
was  "Paul  and  his  company"  (Acts  13:13)  who  set  sail 


8o  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

from  Cyprus.  Luke  is  very  deft  in  suggesting  to  us  the 
rapidly  growing  leadership  of  Paul. 

Their  destination  was  Perga,  the  capital  of  Pam- 
phylia.  This  time  the  voyage  was  about  175  miles,  a 
longer  one  than  that  from  Antioch  to  Cyprus.  Mark 
made  the  voyage  with  them  but  turned  back  at  Perga. 
Something  must  have  gone  wrong  in  Perga,  for,  although 
it  was  an  important  city  and  capital,  Paul  and  Barnabas 
did  not  stay  long.  There  is  much  to  be  said  in  favor  of 
the  explanation  that  Paul,  after  his  overexertion  in 
Cyprus  and  coming  into  the  malarial  lowland  of  the 
Pamphyhan  coast,  was  taken  ill  with  fever.  This  would 
account  for  two  things:  first,  that  Paul  was  displeased 
at  Mark's  desertion,  as  indicated  in  Acts  15:39,  and, 
secondly,  that  Paul,  leaving  Perga  so  suddenly,  goes  into 
the  mountains  to  cities  located  at  an  elevation  of  nearly 
4,000  feet.  The  best  possible  antidote  for  a  malarial 
attack  would  be  the  mountain  air. 

Like  other  centers  of  Paul's  activity,  Antioch  of 
Pisidia  was  a  favored  place.  The  emperor  Augustus  had 
made  it  a  Roman  colony.  This  meant  that  its  citizens 
had  special  rights,  such  as  personal  freedom  and  im- 
munity from  certain  taxes.  Located  at  an  elevation  of 
3,600  feet,  it  overlooked  a  far-reaching  fertile  plain  to  the 
southeast.  Its  extensive  ruins  prove  its  great  promi- 
nence in  the  apostolic  time. 

Drinking  in  the  splendid  view  of  the  plain  and  breath- 
ing the  rare  atmosphere  of  the  mountain,  Paul  and 
Barnabas  rode  their  horses  along  the  highway  that  led 
into  the  city.  They  went  to  the  little  inn,  or  perhaps 
they  found  lodging  with  some  friendly  Jew  who  might 
be  hoping  for  a  return  of  the  favor  when  he  should  some- 


A  CAMPAIGN  WITH  BARNABAS  8 1 

time  visit  Jerusalem.  On  the  first  Sabbath,  or  upon 
some  later  Sabbath  if  Paul's  illness  at  first  prevented, 
they  went  to  the  synagogue  of  the  Jews.  The  order  of 
service  was  simple.  After  the  call  to  worship  and  the 
prayer  came  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  first  in 
Hebrew,  then  in  Greek.  Then  came  a  talk  upon  the 
passages  read.  If  by  good  fortune  there  were  any  present 
who  had  come  from  the  mother-community  at  Jerusalem 
they  would  be  eagerly  invited  to  give  the  talk.  This 
was  Paul's  opportunity. 

The  first  words  of  Paul's  speech  were,  "Men  of  Israel 
and  ye  that  fear  God."  He  was  speaking  to  two  classes 
of  hearers.  He  was  addressing  the  "men  of  Israel" 
first.  But  he  had  also  in  mind  those  others  who  every- 
where attended  the  synagogues  in  large  numbers,  but 
were  unwilling  to  accept  the  physical  and  ceremonial 
requirements  of  the  Jews.  They  were  the  men  who 
"feared  God"  but  were  not  admitted  to  the  circle  of 
the  "men  of  Israel."  They  believed  in  monotheism; 
they  believed  that  the  essence  of  religion  was  to  "do 
justly,  love  mercy,  and  walk  humbly  with  thy  God." 
These  men  would  naturally  welcome  Paul's  message 
as  a  great  piece  of  "good  news."  Paul's  plan  was 
of  course  to  endeavor  to  convert  the  Jews  and  use  them 
in  the  spread  of  the  gospel.  But  if  he  failed  to  win 
enough  Jews  to  control  the  synagogue  he  knew  that 
with  the  aid  of  this  outer  circle  his  converts  when  expelled 
from  the  synagogue  would  find  meeting  places  of  their 
own.  Paul  had  had,  perhaps  from  the  day  of  his  con- 
version, a  vision  of  these  men  forming,  as  stated  above, 
a  great  portal  through  which  the  gospel  of  Jesus  would 
go  out  into  the  highways  and  byways  of  the  nations. 


82  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Explaining  that  Jesus  was  the  long-expected  Messiah, 
Paul  rose  gradually  to  the  climax  of  his  speech  in  his 
assertion  that  a  man  is  not  saved  by  the  law  of  Moses, 
but  by  Christ  through  faith.  Of  course  Luke  did  not 
hear  the  speech,  nor  was  there  anyone  present  who 
could  take  down  the  speech  in  shorthand.  Nevertheless, 
since  Luke  heard  later  speeches  of  Paul  there  is  no  reason 
to  doubt  but  that  his  record  has  preserved  the  essential 
thought.  Paul  was  giving  his  own  experience  under 
law  and  his  vision  upon  the  Damascus  road.  It  must 
have  taken  no  small  amount  of  courage  to  stand  up  in  a 
Jewish  synagogue  as  he  did  and,  by  an  appeal  to  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  after  his  condemnation  by  the  Jews, 
prove  that  the  Jewish  national  leaders  had  been  van- 
quished and  the  old  system  superseded  by  a  new  era  of 
freedom. 

His  former  success  before  the  proconsul  Sergius 
Paulus  was  now  eclipsed  by  the  greater  success  of  this 
first  recorded  pubHc  address.  After  the  service  many 
gathered  around  him  to  inquire  further.  He  was  asked 
to  speak  again.  The  next  Sabbath,  Luke  narrates, 
"almost  the  whole  city"  was  gathered  together  to  hear 
him  talk  of  the  new  freedom  in  Christ.  Never  could 
Paul,  after  this,  doubt  the  power  of  his  gospel.  Neither 
could  the  jealous  Jews  fail  to  see  its  strength  and  the 
danger  with  which  it  threatened  their  whole  legal  and 
ceremonial  system. 

Paul  did  not  always  find  organized  Jewish  opposition 
to  his  message.  There  is  no  indication  that  either  at 
Salamis  or  at  Beroea  he  was  forced  to  leave  the  syna- 
gogue. Many  Jews  of  the  Dispersion  accepted  Paul's 
message  with  the  same  hearty  welcome  which  the  people 


A  CAMPAIGN  WITH  BARNABAS  83 

of  Galilee  had  given  to  Jesus'  teaching.  Paul's  insist- 
ence that  a  man  may  be  saved  quite  apart  from  the  law 
was  in  line  with  the  broader  attitude  and  tendency  of 
the  Dispersion.  Nevertheless,  to  many  it  would  appear 
as  a  very  radical  departure  from  established  Jewish 
custom  and  point  of  view.  Those  Jews  who  followed 
closely  the  leadership  of  the  Pharisees  at  Jerusalem  would 
naturally  in  many  cases  create  a  very  active  opposition. 
Paul  and  Barnabas  were  compelled  to  leave  the  syna- 
gogue at  Antioch  and  turn  to  the  Gentiles.  The  Gentiles 
"were  glad."  They  had  the  kind  of  message  for  which 
they  had  been  waiting.  The  news  of  it  spread.  The 
Jews  became  so  alarmed  for  their  time-honored  faith 
that  they  stirred  up  a  persecution  against  the  new  circle 
of  converts  and  succeeded  in  expelling  Paul  and  Barnabas 
from  the  city.  FeeHng  that  their  work  here  was  done, 
they  proceeded  to  the  next  important  city  and  Jewish 
center,  in  order  to  repeat  the  same  successful  program. 

4.      AT  ICONIUM 

Traveling  along  the  highroad  a  distance  of  about 
eighty  miles,  the  two  apostles  reached  the  city  of  Iconium. 
This  city  had  somewhat  the  same  natural  advantages  as 
Damascus.  A  stream  from  the  hills  flowing  down  into 
a  plateau,  which  because  of  its  elevation  was  rather  dry, 
gave  itself  completely  to  the  city  and  its  environs,  mak- 
ing it  a  spot  of  luxurious  fruitfulness.  Iconium  was  a 
growing  city  of  strategic  importance  located  at  a  cross- 
roads. It  became  later,  under  Hadrian,  a  Roman 
colony  like  Antioch  of  Pisidia.  Under  Claudius,  and 
therefore  about  the  time  of  the  visit  of  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas, it  was  honored  with  the  title  Claudiconium.     It 


84  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

was  no  exception  in  Paul's  program  of  planting  the  gospel 
in  the  centers  of  industrial  life. 

The  apostles  hunted  up  again  that  simple  little  edi- 
fice, the  synagogue  of  the  Jews.  Telling  again  the  good 
news  of  the  Christ  who  came  to  welcome  all  men  without 
respect  to  class  or  nationality  or  legal  righteousness  into 
his  new  brotherhood  of  love  to  await  his  coming,  they 
stirred  a  multitude  both  of  Jews  and  of  Greeks.  Again 
the  Jews  saw  that  their  national  religious  prerogative 
was  threatened.  They  began  to  slander  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas and  to  rouse  antipathy  against  them  in  the  city. 
Luke  is  probably  true  to  Paul's  spirit  when  he  says  that 
on  account  of  the  opposition  they  "therefore"  tarried  a 
long  time.  It  was  necessary  for  them  to  stay  long 
enough  to  show  by  actual  test  the  superiority  of  the  new 
gospel.  Here,  as  in  other  cities  where  Paul  preached,  a 
little  circle  may  be  pictured  in  which  were  realized  the 
principles  of  Christian  fellowship,  in  which  the  poor  was 
the  brother  of  the  rich,  in  which  each  man  or  woman 
spoke  to  his  neighbor  as  to  an  equal,  in  which  the  mem- 
bers felt  deeply  the  indwelling  power  of  the  Spirit  and 
awaited  expectantly  the  day  when  the  Kingdom  of  Christ 
should  be  established  throughout  the  world.  The  circle 
widened.  It  began  to  undermine  the  influence  of  the 
Jewish  synagogue  and  its  ceremonial.  The  thousand 
enactments  of  the  Mosaic  law  and  the  rabbinic  explana- 
tions of  them  were  losing  ground.  The  Jews  succeeded 
as  at  Antioch  in  creating  a  mob  spirit  against  Paul  and 
Barnabas.  But  the  work  of  the  two  was  done.  They 
could  be  of  greater  service  by  leaving  and  going  to 
another  city  than  by  staying  and  increasing  the  bitter 
antagonism  which  had  been  aroused. 


A  CAMPAIGN  WITH  BARNABAS  85 

Two  little  touches  in  Luke's  narrative  are  among  the 
facts  which  give  us  confidence  in  his  general  accuracy  in 
describing  these  incidents.  In  Acts  14:4  he  speaks  of 
Paul  and  Barnabas  as  ''apostles."  This  clearly  reflects 
that  earlier  stage  in  which  the  term  "apostle"  had  not 
yet  been  copyrighted.  The  later  church,  even  at  the 
time  when  the  Book  of  Acts  was  written,  would  hardly 
have  called  Barnabas  an  apostle.  A  second  touch  is  in 
Acts  14:6.  Luke  says  that  after  leaving  Iconium  they 
came  to  the  cities  of  Lycaonia.  This  is  a  reflection  of 
the  fact  that  although  Iconium  was  also  geographically 
in  Lycaonia  its  people  were  more  Phrygian  in  character. 
Luke,  or  his  source,  knew  the  people.  He  was  not 
merely  following  a  map.  When  the  apostles  came  to 
Lystra  they  were  not  only  in  Lycaonia  but  also  among 
Lycaonians. 

5.      AT   LYSTRA   AND   DERBE 

Lystra  was  only  eighteen  miles  farther  along  the 
road.  But  it  was  over  400  feet  higher  than  Iconium. 
The  view  became  continually  more  open  as  the  two 
travelers  proceeded  until  they  reached  a  height  of  about 
3,800  feet.  One  who  has  traveled  in  the  mountains 
cannot  fail  to  think  of  the  rising  jubilant  spirits  of  the 
two  as  they  climbed.  Their  success  had  been  more  than 
they  had  hoped.  Their  vision  of  the  expansion  of  the 
Christian  religion  was  perhaps  enlarging  as  rapidly  as 
their  natural  horizon. 

The  stream  which  flows  down  out  of  the  hills  to  make 
a  fruitful  valley  around  Lystra  has  a  certain  suggestive- 
ness  in  connection  with  Paul's  arrival.  As  at  Damascus 
and  as  at  Iconium,  the  stream  never  reaches  the  sea.     It 


86  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

loses  itself  completely  in  its  task  of  irrigation  and  fertiliza- 
tion. As  Paul  looked  at  that  stream  flowing  along  in  the 
sunlight,  did  he  perhaps  think  of  his  own  glad  spirits  as 
they  were  about  to  give  themselves  to  this  city  ?  Did 
he  think  that  perhaps  he  like  that  stream  might  never 
proceed  farther,  that  he  might  give  his  very  life  to  the 
city  and  be  dragged  out  of  it  as  one  who  was  dead? 
Surely  he  did  not  know  what  fruit  his  sacrifice  would 
bear,  nor  dream  that  a  certain  young  man  from  Lystra 
named  Timothy  would  become  his  greatest  helper,  and 
would  after  his  death  be  his  successor,  traveling  up  and 
down  the  Roman  Empire  strengthening  and  confirming 
the  churches. 

Lystra  was  a  city  worthy  of  Paul's  labors.  On  the 
present  site  of  the  city  there  still  stands  in  its  original 
place  the  pedestal  of  a  statue  of  the  emperor  Augustus. 
Possibly  this  was  the  site  of  emperor- worship.  A  new 
bit  of  information  was  turned  up  in  1885  in  the  shape  of 
a  coin  bearing  the  significant  inscription  that  Lystra  was 
a  Roman  colony.  In  this  Roman  colony  Paul  the 
Roman  citizen  was  to  undergo  his  first  serious  persecu- 
tion. 

Luke  does  not  record  that  Paul  and  Barnabas  went 
to  a  synagogue.  Perhaps  the  omission  only  shows 
Luke's  lack  of  information.  Possibly  there  was  no 
synagogue.  But  it  is  also  quite  possible  that  the  apostles 
wished  to  avoid  another  clash  with  the  Jews,  for  Lystra 
was  only  a  short  distance  from  Iconium.  Luke  gives 
the  impression  that  here  it  was  not  preaching  concerning 
Jewish  law  and  salvation,  but  the  healing  of  a  cripple 
which  attracted  the  chief  attention.  It  is  not  hard  to 
understand  how  Paul  may  at  times,  through  the  force 


A  CAMPAIGN  WITH  BARNABAS  87 

of  his  own  personality  and  with  the  aid  of  the  power  of 
faith  in  Christ,  have  relieved  such  cases.  Luke's  inter- 
est seems  to  have  been  chiefly  in  the  power  exhibited, 
while  for  students  of  the  life  of  Paul  the  account  contains 
also  an  instructive  suggestion  of  the  personal  side  of 
Paul's  work.  Like  Jesus  he  turned  aside  at  any  time 
to  help  the  poor  and  the  helpless  and  others  whom  he 
found  in  trouble  (cf.  I  Thess.  2:11;   Acts  20:31,  35). 

Greek  and  Roman  mythology  illustrate  abundantly 
how  common  was  the  idea  that  the  gods  might  at  any 
time  visit  earth  and  go  about  incognito  mingling  in  human 
affairs.  Nevertheless,  Luke's  account  indicates  that 
the  people  of  Lystra  were  profoundly  and  deeply  im- 
pressed, that  they  had  never  seen  two  men  so  filled  with 
the  divine  spirit  as  these  two.  As  their  enthusiasm  and 
imagination  were  fired,  they  could  say  that  Barnabas 
was  Jupiter  himself  and  that  Paul  was  his  spokesman, 
Mercury,  the  messenger  of  the  gods. 

The  personal  appearance  of  the  two  apostles  can  be 
interestingly  described  in  view  of  these  appellations. 
Barnabas  was  evidently  a  heavy  man  with  a  dignified 
bearing.  His  bearded  face  may  be  imagined  after  the 
pattern  of  the  busts  of  Jupiter  which  have  found  their 
way  into  our  museums.  Paul,  on  the  other  hand,  like 
Mercury,  the  messenger  of  the  gods,  was  smooth-faced, 
quick  of  foot,  and  quick  of  eye.  He  was  the  spokesman, 
the  active  one.  The  incident  is  an  effective  commentary 
on  the  slander  of  Paul's  enemies  which  he  quotes  in 
II  Cor.  10:10:  "His  letters  they  say  are  weighty  and 
strong,  but  his  bodily  presence  is  weak  and  his  speech 
of  no  account."  The  conclusion  should  not  be  too 
hastily  drawn  from  the  Corinthian  passage  that  Paul 


88  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

had  an  impediment  in  his  speech.  Perhaps  it  was  his 
very  eloquence  that  brought  the  retort  that  his  impas- 
sioned language  was  "of  no  account." 

The  men  of  Lystra  spoke  more  truly  than  they  knew 
when  they  described  him  as  that  messenger  of  the  gods 
with  the  winged  feet.  For  he  combined  in  a  unique  and 
marvelous  way  the  gift  of  interpreting  messages  from 
heaven  to  earth  with  that  other  gift  of  speeding  on  the 
wings  of  faith  and  service  to  the  uttermost  parts. 

At  the  gateway  through  which  the  two  gods  had  come 
into  their  city  the  people  prepared  a  sacrifice  in  honor  of 
their  entrance.  The  priest  came  from  the  Temple  of 
Jupiter.  Animals  were  brought  for  sacrifice  and  gar- 
lands for  festive  decoration.  This  turned  their  adora- 
tion into  idolatry.  Certain  men  ran  to  tell  Paul  and 
Barnabas.  Perhaps  the  apostles  were  holding  a  meeting 
of  Christians  in  some  home.  Whatever  they  were  doing, 
they  left  immediately  and  rushed  out  to  the  gate  to  stop 
the  idolatrous  rite. 

How  can  the  people  of  this  same  city  so  soon  after- 
ward have  stoned  Paul  and  dragged  him  out  of  the  city 
and  left  him  for  dead  ?  Is  it  not  a  reminder  of  that  week 
in  which  Jesus  celebrated  his  triumphal  entry  into  Jeru- 
salem amid  palm  branches  and  hosannas,  and  then  so 
soon  afterward  was  led  out  of  the  city  and  crucified? 
The  fanatical  hatred  in  Lystra  as  in  Jerusalem  was  stirred 
up  by  the  narrowness  and  pride  of  certain  Jews  who  felt 
that  the  prestige  of  their  national  religion  was  threatened. 

Arrived  in  Lystra,  those  Jews  who  according  to 
Acts  14:5  had  attempted  a  stoning  at  Iconium  probably 
began  to  explain  the  healing  of  the  cripple  exactly  as  the 
Jews  on  one  occasion  explained  a  marvelous  cure  of 


A  CAMPAIGN  WITH  BARNABAS  89 

Jesus  (Matt.  12:24).  They  would  say  that,  as  such  a 
physical  misfortune  was  caused  by  a  demon,  only  a  per- 
son in  league  with  the  demons  could  have  effected  a 
cure.  They  would  explain  the  wonder  as  a  sign  of  an 
evil  power.  Since  the  people  were  apparently  impressed 
only  by  the  unusual  character  of  the  cure,  and  not 
touched  at  all  by  its  beneficent  quality,  they  could 
easily  be  carried  away  into  an  antipathy  commensurate 
with  their  former  respect. 

Being  stoned  is  not  a  pleasant  experience.  It  creates 
a  very  different  frame  of  mind  from  that  in  which  a  man 
usually  eats  his  breakfast  or  goes  to  a  college  classroom. 
A  modern  tourist  traveling  recently  through  Samaria, 
after  mounting  his  horse  one  morning,  was  proceeding 
through  the  village  of  Nablus.  Suddenly  a  stone  thrown 
from  a  considerable  distance  fell  into  the  road  beside 
him.  Before  the  dust  of  that  stone  and  the  alarm  it 
caused  had  subsided,  another  one  struck  his  horse  full 
upon  the  shank,  causing  the  animal  to  rear  and  jump. 
This  was  followed  by  many  more,  mostly  from  unseen 
sources.  Fortunately  he  was  wearing  a  stiff  rubber 
helmet  so  that  his  head  was  safe.  But  that  morning 
was  one  never  to  be  forgotten.  ''Once  was  I  stoned," 
is  his  summary  of  the  event.  And  he  hopes  the  affair 
will  never  be  repeated.  Somewhat  the  same  way  it 
happened  to  Paul.  One  day,  as  he  was  walking  through 
the  street,  the  stones  began  to  fall  about  him,  then  faster 
and  faster,  until  he  fell  to  the  pavement  and  was  carried 
outside  the  city,  where  his  friends  might  later  come  and 
find  his  body  and  prepare  it  for  burial.  His  last  thoughts 
in  the  midst  of  it  all  must  have  been  of  Stephen  and 
Stephen's  vision. 


90  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

One  last  parallel  to  the  life  of  Jesus  is  found  in  Acts 
14:20.  Luke  hints  that  Paul  was  again  imitating  his 
Master  in  rising  victoriously  from  the  grave  which  his 
enemies  had  prepared  for  him. 

If  his  disciples  asked  him  why  he  suffered  such 
things  for  the  gospel,  his  reply  was  that  he  was 
making  up  that  which  "was  lacking  in  the  sufferings 
of  Christ."  To  save  a  world  is  a  large  task.  It  requires 
a  great  amount  of  patient  labor  and  suffering.  Paul's 
passion  for  saving  men  was  supreme.  "Woe  is  me  if 
I  preach  not  the  gospel."  The  "necessity"  led  him 
triumphantly  forth  from  that  city  to  the  next  impor- 
tant center. 

The  site  of  Derbe  (modern  Zoska)  has  not  yet  been 
excavated.  There  is  very  little  definite  knowledge  con- 
cerning its  history.  But  that  it  was  an  important 
Roman  city  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  it  was  called 
Claudio-Derbe  in  the  reign  of  Claudius.  The  only 
information  which  Luke  gives  of  the  apostles'  work  here 
is  that  they  made  many  disciples.  But  a  casual  refer- 
ence in  Acts  20 : 4  tells  that  one  of  Paul's  trusted  helpers, 
Gains  by  name,  came  from  this  city. 

Paul  was  now  near  the  Cilician  Gates  and  could 
easily  by  a  short  trip  have  crossed  through  the  Taurus 
Mountains  to  his  home  at  Tarsus.  But  his  new  work 
gripped  him  and  held  him.  He  turned  back  again, 
away  from  his  home,  to  revisit  those  stormy  scenes  of 
the  last  weeks  and  to  make  more  permanent  the  little 
new  communities  which  had  started  up.  As  he  went  he 
explained  to  them  the  truth  "that  through  many  tribu- 
lations we  must  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  More 
than  this,  he  selected  certain  elderly  men  who  should 


A  CAMPAIGN  WITH  BARNABAS  91 

be  his  representatives  until  he  should  come  again  on 
another  visit. 

After  retraversing  their  route  as  far  as  Perga,  Paul 
and  Barnabas  stopped  this  time  long  enough  to  speak 
the  word  in  that  city.  Then,  full  of  news  which  they 
wished  to  tell  to  their  friends  in  Antioch,  they  went 
to  the  port  of  AttaHa  and  set  sail.  Partly,  perhaps, 
because  of  their  eagerness  to  relate  their  success  at 
Antioch,  partly,  perhaps,  because  they  were  weary  with 
the  long  journey,  Paul  and  Barnabas  did  not  revisit  the 
island  but  kept  on  directly  to  Antioch.  Arrived  in  the 
city  they  rehearsed  at  the  meetings  of  the  little  com- 
munity the  experiences  of  their  journey  and  portrayed 
the  great  new  possibilities  in  the  bringing  of  the  Gentiles 
into  the  Kingdom. 

While  this  first  missionary  journey  may  seem  small  in 
comparison  with  later  journeys  of  Paul,  it  was  a  new  and 
epoch-making  accomplishment.  They  had  covered  over 
1,400  miles  without  steamship  and  without  railroads,  and 
without  abundance  of  money  to  make  their  journey  com- 
fortable. The  length  of  time  occupied  by  the  journey, 
though  very  hard  to  estimate  accurately,  must  have  been 
more  than  a  year,  perhaps  nearly  two  years.  So  it  was 
natural  that  they  "tarried  no  little  time"  to  recuperate 
and  to  refill  their  purses  and  to  lay  plans  for  new  con- 
quests. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READING 

1.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  pp.  70-129. 

2.  Kent,  Work  and  Teachings  of  the  Apostles,  pp.  86-90. 

3.  Gilbert,  Student'' s  Life  of  Paul,  pp.  69-86. 

4.  Conybeare  and  Howson,  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  chaps. 
V,  vi. 


92  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

5.  Farrar,  Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  chaps,  xix-xxi. 

6.  Bible  for  Home  and  School,  "Acts,"  pp.  131-47. 

7.  McGiffert,  A  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age, 
pp.  172-92. 

8.  Jones,  St.  Paul  the  Orator,  pp.  25-61. 

9.  Bacon,  The  Story  of  St.  Paul,  pp.  97-106. 

10.  On  Antioch,  Ramsay,  Cities  of  St.  Paul,  pp.  247-314;  on 
Iconium,  pp.  317-82;  on  Derbe,  pp.  385-404;  on  Lystra, 
pp.  407-19- 


CHAPTER  VI 

EMANCIPATING  THE  GOSPEL  FROM  JEWISH 
LEGALISM 

1 .  The  Jewish-Christian  Legalists 

Gal.  1:6,7;  5:1-7;  Acts  15:1;  cf.  Acts  15:5;  Gal.  3:6, 
8,  18;  II  Cor.  10:1,  2;  11:22,  23 

2.  Pavil's  Account  of  the  Conference 

Gal.  2:-i-io 

3.  The  Acts  Account  of  the  Conference 

Acts  15:1-35 

4.  Peter's  Visit  to  Antioch 

Gal.  2:11-21;  Acts  15:35 

I.      THE   JEWISH-CHRISTIAN   LEGALISTS 

The  internationalizing  of  Christianity  was  by  no 
means  an  easy  or  simple  process.  To  lead  the  way  in 
the  bringing  in  of  the  Gentiles,  or  rather  to  present  the 
gospel  in  large  terms  among  the  nations  of  the  empire 
without  antagonizing  the  Jewish  Christians,  was  a  deli- 
cate and  difficult  task.  The  Jews,  especially  in  Pales- 
tine, considered  themselves  separate  and  different  from 
other  peoples.  They  felt  that  to  eat  with  the  "  Gentiles" 
rendered  them  ceremonially  unclean.  While  Paul  was 
planning  further  journeys  of  evangelization,  a  party  of 
Jewish  Christians  was  arising  which  threatened  seriously 
to  hamper  his  work.  They  had  no  appreciation  of  the 
deeply  significant  experience  through  which  Paul  and 
Barnabas  had  gone  on  their  first  missionary  journey. 

The  men  who  roused  this  opposition  were  from  Paul's 
point  of  view  more   Jewish  than   Christian.     Yet   to 

93 


94  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

think  of  them  as  not  sincere  in  their  Christianity  is  to 
underestimate  the  acuteness  of  the  situation.  They 
were  men  who  lacked  the  broad  outlook  which  Paul 
possessed.  They  looked  with  alarm  upon  the  possible 
rapid  growth  of  a  church  independent  of  Jewish  restric- 
tions. What  would  become  of  the  synagogues,  of 
the  sacred  law  of  Moses  ?  They  feared  that  the  vast 
network  of  Judaism  throughout  the  empire  would 
begin  to  disintegrate.  The  elaborate  and  splendid 
Temple  at  Jerusalem  would  lose  its  hold  on  men's 
imaginations.  There  was  but  one  possible  and  sensible 
course,  they  said.  Let  every  Christian  be  circumcised 
and  thus  definitely  join  the  great  Jewish  religion  and 
become  a  member  of  the  expanding  Jewish- Christian 
church. 

It  is  not  hard  to  imagine  some  of  the  arguments  which 
these  Judaizers  would  use  in  varying  ways  and  circum- 
stances in  their  efforts  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  their 
national  religion.  In  fact  it  is  difiicult  to  see  how  an 
uninformed  gentile  convert  in  Antioch  or  even  in  more 
distant  Lystra  or  Derbe  would  be  able  in  Paul's  absence 
to  withstand  the  array  of  propositions,  (i)  These 
Judaizers  might  say  Christ  himself  was  a  Jew,  was  cir- 
cumcised, kept  the  law  of  Moses  in  all  essentials. 
Anyone  who  wished  to  be  a  ''Christian"  must  live  as 
Christ  did.  (2)  They  might  claim  that  the  Messiah 
and  the  messianic  kingdom  cannot  be  understood  apart 
from  the  Jewish  Scriptures.  They  would  point  out  that 
these  Scriptures  command  circumcision.  They  would 
refer  with  an  air  of  conclusiveness  to  God's  covenant 
with  Abraham,  recorded  in  Gen.  17:7.  "To  Abraham 
were  the  promises  spoken  and  to  his  seed"  (Gal.  3:16). 


EMANCIPATING  THE  GOSPEL  95 

(3)  They  could  point  forcefully  to  the  fact  that  the 
apostles  all  kept  the  law,  not  only  that  they  were  all 
circumcised,  but  that  they  continued  in  their  general 
observance  of  the  ceremonial  and  of  obligations  to  the 
Temple  at  Jerusalem.  (4)  They  asserted  that  Paul  was 
not  a  true  apostle  (cf.  Gal.  1:1;  I  Cor,  9:1;  II  Cor. 
11:13;  12:12),  that  he  had  not  been  with  Jesus  during 
his  earthly  ministry  and  hence  could  not  have  received 
a  commission  from  him,  that  Paul's  gospel  was  only  a 
making  over  of  what  he  had  heard  from  the  apostles  at 
Jerusalem.  (5)  They  probably  said  that  Paul  was 
acting  inconsistently  and  dishonestly.  He  was  a  cir- 
cumcised Jew  and  was  on  the  safe  side  himself.  They 
perhaps  accused  him  of  circumcising  his  friends,  as  he 
later  circumcised  Timothy,  of  preaching  circumcision 
when  he  was  among  Jews,  yet  preaching  liberty  to  those 
who  were  fond  of  license.  (6)  Finally,  they  could 
represent  that  Paul  was  merely  letting  down  the  bars 
and  retaihng  a  kind  of  "get-rich-quick"  way  of  salva- 
tion, doing  it  for  the  sake  of  the  glory  which  he  derived 
from  it  and  incidentally  for  the  sake  of  the  collections 
which  he  took  up  in  his  churches. 

This  narrow  view  which  regarded  Christianity  as 
merely  a  new  chapter  in  the  history  of  Judaism  con- 
trasted sharply  with  Paul's  conception  of  the  gospel  as 
an  international  message  intended  for  Jew  and  Gentile 
ahke.  There  was  evident  need  that  Paul  should  have  a 
conference  with  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem  and  come  to 
a  clear  understanding  with  them  as  to  their  attitude 
toward  his  gentile  mission. 

This  conference  at  Jerusalem  was  decidedly  the  most 
important  and  significant  Christian  meeting  of  the  first 


96  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

century.  If  the  decision  of  this  council  had  been  differ- 
ent, not  only  would  Paul's  work  have  been  greatly 
hindered,  but  he  and  his  followers  would  have  founded 
a  separate  religion.  This  catastrophe  of  a  split  into  a 
Jewish  religion  of  Jesus  on  the  one  side  and  a  Pauline 
gentile  Christianity  on  the  other  was  averted  by  the 
forceful  way  in  which  Paul  handled  the  situation. 

2.    Paul's  account  of  the  conference 

In  Galatians  Paul  gives  a  rather  full  and  complete 
statement  of  his  meeting  with  the  apostles.  His  account 
is  first-hand  testimony  written  at  most  only  two  or 
three  years  after  the  event.  With  his  companion 
Barnabas  he  went  up  to  Jerusalem.  Titus,  an  uncir- 
cumcised  gentile  convert,  was  also  with  him.  At  Jeru- 
salem in  a  private  conference  with  the  leading  apostles 
he  explained  his  gospel.  The  real  question  at  issue  was 
the  circumcision  of  Gentiles  who  would  become  Chris- 
tians. There  were  also  present  at  the  conference  or  in 
the  background  influencing  it  representatives  of  the 
extreme  legalists,  "the  false  brethren  privily  brought  in," 
who  had  come  to  do  what  they  could  to  oppose  Paul. 
The  issue  converged  upon  Titus. 

At  first  the  pillar  apostles  adopted  a  compromise 
attitude.  They  urged  Paul  to  pacify  the  legahsts  by 
circumcising  Titus.  The  legalists  had  perhaps  repre- 
sented that  the  whole  controversy  was  about  this  one 
man,  and  that  if  he  were  circumcised  peace  would  be 
restored.  Paul  knew  that  the  question  was  of  world- 
wide import.  He  regarded  any  yielding  in  the  case  of 
Titus  as  a  jeopardizing  of  "the  truth  of  the  gospel." 
Paul  probably  saw  also  that  the  attitude  of  the  apostles 


EMANCIPATING  THE  GOSPEL  97 

was  only  one  of  temporary  expediency  and  that  inwardly 
they  were  not  adverse  to  the  broader  view.  He  stood 
his  ground.  He  "gave  place  by  way  of  the  subjection 
(demanded),  no,  not  for  an  hour." 

Paul's  determined  stand  won  the  day.  The  apostles 
yielded.  They  admitted  the  justice  of  his  contention 
that  the  circumcising  of  Titus  involved  the  vital  point 
of  the  controversy.  They  came  squarely  over  to  the 
side  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  and  entered  into  an  agreement 
with  them  whereby  these  two  men  should  preach  the 
gospel  without  circumcision  among  the  Gentiles  while 
the  Jerusalem  apostles  preached  among  the  Jews. 
This  division  of  territory  ended  any  disagreement.  The 
outcome  of  the  conference  was  a  most  friendly  and  formal 
indorsement  of  Paul's  work.  The  legalists  were  com- 
pletely defeated  in  their  opposition.  ''James  and  Cephas 
and  John  ....  gave  to  me  and  Barnabas  the  right 
hands  of  fellowship." 

It  was  a  turning-point  in  Paul's  career.  Even  with- 
out the  approval  of  the  apostles  he  would  have  continued 
his  gentile  mission.  But  now  he  had  a  definite  sanction 
to  which  he  could  refer  all  questioners.  At  Jerusalem 
itself,  the  center  of  Judaism,  his  gospel  had  been  speeded 
on  its  mission.  Possibly  the  triumphant  vindication 
contributed  its  share  to  the  new  impetus  which  soon 
afterward  sent  Paul  all  the  way  to  Europe.  But  per- 
haps its  greatest  historical  significance  lay  in  its  assur- 
ance of  the  unity  of  early  Christendom.  This  unity  was 
still  further  promoted  by  the  plea  of  the  apostles  that 
from  Paul's  gentile  churches  a  contribution  should  be 
sent  for  the  relief  of  the  Jewish-Christian  poor  at  Jeru- 
salem. 


98  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

3.   THE  ACTS  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  CONFERENCE 

An  event  so  central  and  so  far-reaching  as  the  Jeru- 
salem conference  naturally  received  place  in  the  Book 
of  Acts.  But  that  book,  written  so  many  years  after 
the  event,  allows  room  for  many  uncertainties.  There 
is  even  some  question  as  to  the  chapter  in  which  the 
conference  is  to  be  found,  whether  in  chapter  15,  as 
usually  held,  or  possibly  in  the  account  of  the  relief  visit 
in  chapter  11. 

Three  arguments  have  been  advanced  for  finding  the 
conference  in  chapter  11.  (i)  The  reHef  visit  of  Acts 
1 1 :  30  would  be,  in  case  Paul  really  went  to  Jerusalem, 
his  second  visit.  According  to  Gal  2:1,  the  conference 
occurred  on  his  second  visit.  (2)  In  Gal.  2 :  10  the 
request  at  the  conference  is  to  remember  the  poor, 
"which  very  thing  I  was  also  zealous  to  do."  This 
corresponds  in  a  way  to  the  purpose  of  the  relief  visit. 
For  in  time  of  famine  the  poor  would  be  the  first  to 
receive  help  from  the  Antioch  commission.  (3)  At  the 
conference  the  apostles  "imparted  nothing"  to  Paul 
(Gal.  2:6).  This  means,  especially  in  conjunction  with 
Gal.  2:10  ("only"),  that  they  laid  no  restrictions  upon 
Paul's  gospel  in  gentile  fields.  Acts,  chap.  15,  however, 
speaks  of  certain  requirements  drawn  up  in  written 
form  at  Jerusalem. 

But  in  Acts,  chap.  11,  there  is  no  mention  of  a  con- 
ference. There  is  not  even  a  direct  statement  that 
Paul  reached  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  though  the  implica- 
tion is  that  he  did.  The  request  to  remember  the  poor 
could  be  made  as  well  on  one  \'isit  as  another.  The 
restrictions  mentioned  in  Acts,  chap,  15,  create  a  diffi- 
culty which  will  be  considered.     But  the  difficulty  is 


EMANCIPATING  THE  GOSPEL  99 

only  increased  by  placing  a  Jerusalem  conference  in 
chapter  11. 

The  conference  of  Gal.,  chap.  2,  is  almost  certainly 
to  be  identified  with  the  one  described  in  Acts,  chap.  15. 
There  is  fundamental  and  general  agreement  in  the 
situation  portrayed.  Both  agree  that  a  council  was 
held  at  which  gentile  Christianity  was  freely  recognized. 
Both  agree  that  the  circumcision  of  gentile  converts  was 
declared  to  be  unnecessary.  They  agree  in  assuming 
that  Jewish  Christians  were  to  keep  the  Mosaic  law 
afterward  as  before.  The  public  meeting  which  is 
described  at  length  in  Acts,  chap.  15,  is  probably  implied 
by  contrast  in  the  word  "privately"  in  Gal.  2:2.  Both 
state  that  Paul's  personal  program  of  evangelizing  the 
Gentiles  was  heartily  indorsed.  Finally  both  accounts 
mention  James  and  Peter  as  having  leading  parts  in  the 
approval. 

Comparing  Luke's  account  with  Paul's  it  becomes 
apparent  that  Acts,  chap.  15,  has  several  statements  not 
found  in  Galatians. 

1.  In  Acts  15:2  the  Antioch  Christians  "appointed" 
that  Paul  and  Barnabas  should  go  up,  while  in  Gal.  2 : 2 
Paul  "went  up  by  revelation."  Paul's  account  shows 
that  it  was  he  who  took  the  initiative  in  proposing  the 
conference  and  that  any  action  taken  by  the  Antioch 
church  was  in  the  nature  of  support  of  his  decision 
to  go. 

2.  Again,  Galatians  mentions  only  the  private  con- 
ference and  Acts  only  a  public  one.  It  is  not  hard  to 
conceive  that  the  latter  general  meeting  was  held. 
Paul's  real  victory  was  won  at  his  session  with  the 
apostles,  but  both  Paul  and  the  apostles  would  wish  to 


loo  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

acquaint  the  Jerusalem  Christians  with  the  new  and 
larger  view  and  to  gain  their  approval  of  this  forward 
step. 

An  incidental  statement  in  Acts,  chap.  15,  occurring 
in  verse  4  and  again  in  verse  12,  is  suggestive  of  the 
probable  method  by  which  Paul  gained  the  approval  of 
these  Jewish  Christians.  It  was  not  the  method  of 
debate.  Possibly  the  Judaizers  would  have  had  the 
best  of  an  extended  argument  before  a  Jerusalem  audi- 
ence. Certainly  if  the  basis  of  appeal  had  been  Old 
Testament  scripture  and  early  Christian  custom  the 
plea  for  the  stricter  view  would  have  been  almost 
irresistible.  But  Paul  was  not  to  be  drawn  into  a 
rabbinical  discussion  in  this  public  meeting.  He  began 
by  showing  them  a  new  dispensation  in  God's  dealing 
with  the  Gentiles.  He  "rehearsed  all  things  that  God 
had  done  with  them,  ....  what  signs  and  wonders 
God  had  wrought  among  the  Gentiles."  He  would  per- 
haps point  to  Titus,  whom  he  had  brought  with  him, 
as  an  example  of  a  manly  gentile  Christian.  He  would 
tell  of  "the  fruits  of  the  Spirit"  as  he  has  listed  them  in 
his  letters.  He  would  conclude  by  painting  a  vivid 
picture  of  the  "fearers  of  God"  coming  into  the  King- 
dom in  great  numbers  and  of  the  hosts  of  their  gentile 
comrades  behind  them.  His  listeners  would,  at  least 
momentarily,  see  a  vision  as  he  had  seen  it,  of  the  gates  of 
the  Kingdom  flung  wide  open;  would  see  the  peoples  of 
every  tongue  forsaking  their  unclean  ways  and  in  the 
name  of  the  Jewish  Prince  preparing  themselves  for 
entrance  into  God's  new  commonwealth. 

Even  after  hearing  of  the  success  of  the  gospel  among 
the  Gentiles  the  Jerusalem  Christians  probably  took 


EMANCIPATING  THE  GOSPEL  loi 

little  active  interest  in  the  wider  program.  Paul  at- 
tained the  object  of  his  visit.  But  the  contrast  be- 
tween his  intense  consecration  to  the  cause  of  Christ 
among  the  nations  and  their  attitude  of  toleration  still 
remained.  The  height  to  which  the  average  Christian 
in  Jerusalem  reached  is  perhaps  well  expressed  in  that 
beautifully  negative  decision  of  Acts  15:19,  that  "we 
trouble  not  them  that  from  among  the  Gentiles  turn 
to  God." 

3.  In  Acts  15:23-29  are  the  so-called  decrees  of  the 
council  contained  in  an  epistle  which,  Luke  narrates,  was 
sent  at  this  time  from  Jerusalem  to  Antioch.  The  four 
restrictions  were  apparently  to  be  imposed  upon  gentile 
converts,  not  only  in  ''Antioch  and  Syria  and  Cilicia," 
as  stated  in  the  epistle  (15 :  23),  but  in  all  Paul's  churches 
generally  (cf.  16:4).  The  chief  difficulty  with  these 
decrees  is  the  definite  statement  in  Galatians  that  the 
apostles  "imparted  nothing"  to  Paul,  asking  "only" 
that  he  remember  the  poor.  The  whole  impression  of 
Paul's  account  is  that  the  only  question  at  issue  in  the 
conference  was  circumcision,  and  that  here  he  won  a 
clean  victory.  Even  Acts  seems  at  first  to  suggest  such 
an  outcome,  "that  we  trouble  not  them  that  from  among 
the  Gentiles  turn  to  God."  Moreover,  in  all  Paul's 
letters  there  is  no  trace  of  any  such  compromise  as  the 
decrees  suggest.  On  the  contrary,  when  the  question  of 
eating  "things  sacrificed  to  idols"  (Acts  15:29;  I  Cor. 
8:1)  arose  in  the  Corinthian  church  Paul  wrote  plainly, 
"food  will  not  commend  us  to  God"  (I  Cor.  8:8).  It  is 
hard  to  conceive  that  Paul  would  ever  have  consented 
to  the  imposing  of  the  four  requirements,  or  have  been, 
even  in  a  negative  way,  a  party  to  any  such  arrangement. 


I02  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

The  Peter  incident,  also,  which  took  place  soon  after- 
ward at  Antioch  (Gal.  2:11  ff.),  seems  to  exclude  the 
possibility  that  the  Jerusalem  conference  had  at  that 
time  issued  any  such  decrees. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  account  for  the  presence  of  the 
restrictions  in  Acts.  The  key  to  the  explanation  may  be 
found  in  the  statement  that  the  communication  to 
Antioch  was  in  writing.  It  is  the  only  case  in  Acts  in 
which  Luke  states  that  he  is  quoting  a  Christian  docu- 
ment. Perhaps  Luke  had  seen  some  such  missive,  or 
more  probably  had  indirect  information  that  there 
existed  at  Antioch  such  an  epistle.  In  seeking  the  most 
likely  place  for  it  in  his  account  he  not  unnaturally 
decided  it  belonged  to  this  famous  council.  Its  more 
probable  origin,  which  is  revealed  by  a  study  of  the  docu- 
ment itself,  can  be  best  understood  after  a  review  of  the 
Peter  incident  at  Antioch. 

4.    Peter's  visit  to  antioch 

Paul  had  been  successful  in  accomplishing  his  purpose 
at  Jerusalem.  His  mission  to  the  Gentiles  of  the  empire 
had  been  approved.  The  division  of  the  field  into  two 
parts,  a  Jewish  and  a  gentile,  promised  to  end  all  dis- 
putes. The  Jerusalem  apostles  were  to  preach  among 
the  Jews.  Paul  was  to  preach  his  more  liberal  presenta- 
tion of  the  gospel  among  the  Gentiles.  Paul  of  Tarsus 
in  CiKcia  had  gone  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  from  those  whom 
he  had  been  accustomed  to  respectfully  regard  as  the 
"pillars"  he  had  won  the  right  hand  of  fellowship. 

But  there  were  several  important  questions  upon 
which  the  conference  had  given  no  decisions.  It  was 
natural  that  in  controversy  over  the  main  issue  other 


EMANCIPATING  THE  GOSPEL  103 

related  questions  should  be  left  untouched.  In  general 
the  clear  implication  of  the  conference  was  that  in 
Jewish  territory  the  pillar  apostles  would  continue  to 
win  men  to  faith  in  Christ  without  disturbing  their  rela- 
tion to  the  law,  and  that  in  gentile  territory  Paul  would 
win  them  without  imposing  circumcision.  But  were 
Gentiles  in  Jewish  territory  to  keep  the  law  if  they  be- 
came Christians  ?  Were  Gentiles  in  gentile  territory  to 
keep  the  law  in  other  matters  than  circumcision,  or 
were  they  to  be  free  from  other  statutes  as  well  ?  Were 
Jewish  Christians  in  gentile  territory  to  keep  the  law  ? 
Of  course,  with  them  the  question  of  circumcision  could 
not  arise  personally.  But  were  they  to  circumcise 
their  children?  Would  they  keep  the  Sabbath  and 
observe  the  law  of  foods?  Apparently  none  of  these 
points  was  discussed. 

One  question  became  particularly  urgent.  The  ques- 
tion of  the  observance  of  the  Jewish  food  law  in  a  mixed 
Christian  church  was  not  settled  at  the  conference  and 
apparently  had  not  been  raised  at  all.  Paul  would 
doubtless  assume  that  that  had  been  left  to  him  to  take 
care  of  under  the  general  agreement  that  gentile  lands 
were  his  diocese.  The  extreme  legalists  would  naturally 
assume  that  Jews  everywhere  would  continue  to  keep  the 
law  in  all  respects.  The  decision  of  the  council  pre- 
supposed logically  both  that  the  law  was  permanent 
and  that  it  was  not  permanent,  according  to  the  locahty 
and  persons  concerned. 

After  his  return  from  Jerusalem  to  Antioch  Paul 
began  to  preach  to  this  gentile  territory  his  gospel  of 
freedom.  So  effectively  did  he  portray  the  brotherhood 
of  man  with  man  that  Jews  and  Gentiles  formed  the 


I04  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

habit  of  eating  together,  Jews  at  gentile  meals  as  well 
as  Gentiles  at  Jewish.  Thus  Jews  were  violating  the 
Jewish  feeling  that  eating  at  a  gentile  table  rendered  a 
Jew  unclean. 

When  Peter  came  down  to  Antioch  he  at  first  accepted 
the  practice  as  he  found  it.  For  him  the  logic  of  the 
situation  was  clear.  According  to  the  Jerusalem  con- 
ference the  law  of  circumcision  was  not  binding  on 
gentile  Christians.  In  that  case  the  law  was  not  infal- 
libly binding  as  law  upon  Gentiles,  and  therefore  the  rest 
of  the  statutes  were  not  necessarily  binding  on  Gentiles. 
But  if  the  statutes  were  not  binding  upon  Gentiles, 
neither  could  they  be  intrinsically  binding  upon  Jews. 
Therefore  the  whole  matter  was  one  of  expediency.  But, 
in  a  mere  matter  of  expediency,  when  the  unity  of  the 
church  becomes  involved,  Jews  should  not  sacrifice  their 
brotherly  unity  to  observance  of  the  law,  and  hence  they 
should  give  up  their  legal  scruples. 

Peter  perhaps  did  not  consciously  argue  the  matter 
with  himself  in  any  such  thoroughgoing  way.  Feeling 
may  have  had  more  to  do  with  it  than  thought.  He  was 
the  same  generous,  impulsive  Peter  whom  Jesus  loved 
so  deeply  and  rebuked  so  often.  Since  Peter's  experi- 
ence with  CorneHus  he  had  become  more  and  more  con- 
vinced of  the  acceptability  of  the  Gentiles  in  God's 
sight.  At  Antioch  he  was  swept  along  by  the  breath  of 
the  new  atmosphere  of  freedom  in  Christ.  Jesus  had 
eaten  with  publicans  and  sinners.  Why  should  his 
apostles  hesitate  to  eat  with  Gentiles?  He  little 
dreamed  what  a  controversy  he  would  stir  up  by  eat- 
ing with  some  of  the  new  Christian  friends.  He  was 
simply  conscious  in  a  general  way  that  the  Jerusalem 


EMANCIPATING  THE  GOSPEL  105 

agreement  left  gentile  territory  under  the  direction  of 
Paul  and  Barnabas,  and  hence  that  in  Antioch  he  was 
free  to  follow  Antioch  customs.  From  Paul's  point  of 
view  he  was  right. 

Then  came  the  brethren  from  James,  the  head  of  the 
Jerusalem  church.  Possibly  the  same  extreme  legalists 
who  were  present  at  the  conference  had  induced  James 
to  send  a  delegation  to  see  just  how  matters  stood  in 
Antioch.  When  they  arrived  they  protested  against 
Peter's  conduct.  The  ground  of  their  protest  is  not 
difficult  to  see.  They  also  stood  on  the  Jerusalem  com- 
pact, which  they  interpreted  to  mean  only  that  Gentiles 
were  not  to  be  circumcised.  There  was  no  suggestion 
at  the  conference  that  Jewish  Christians  were  to  be  free 
from  the  obligations  of  the  law.  In  other  words,  it 
was  the  incompleteness  and  logical  inconsistency  of  the 
Jerusalem  agreement  which  was  the  real  cause  of  the 
whole  embarrassing  situation.  The  essentially  com- 
promise character  of  that  treaty  furnished  easy  ground 
for  contrary  inferences  which  were  actually  put  into 
effect  by  both  sides. 

What  would  Peter  do  ?  In  earlier  years  he  had  fol- 
lowed Jesus  courageously,  until  one  day  at  Caesarea 
Philippi  he  had  voiced  the  hesitating,  fearsome  attitude 
of  the  disciples.  Again  he  had  followed  even  to  the 
shadow  of  the  cross  and  there  had  been  drawn  away  into 
a  triple  denial  of  his  leader.  At  Antioch  too  he  probably 
began  to  think  of  unpleasant  consequences  not  only  for 
himself  but  for  Jewish  Christians  generally.  He  would 
reason  that  the  Jews  especially  in  Palestine  were  very 
strict  in  their  observance  of  the  law.  They  regarded  it 
as  the  word  of  God  for  every  son  of  Abraham.     It  was 


io6  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

God's  covenant  with  his  chosen  people.  If  he,  Peter, 
should  become  careless  about  observing  this  law,  not 
only  would  he  offend  his  fellow  Jewish  Christians,  but 
he  would  be  entirely  shut  away  from  the  unconverted 
Jews  to  whom  he  expected  to  devote  his  life.  His  whole 
program  of  Christian  mission  among  the  circumcision 
would  be  destroyed. 

Peter  yielded.  He  carried  with  him  all  the  Jews,  in- 
cluding even  Barnabas,  Paul's  fellow-worker  and  fellow- 
traveler.  The  extreme  legalist  interpretation  of  the 
Jerusalem  compact,  which  excluded  any  inferences  from 
it  as  to  the  law  of  foods  or  the  freedom  of  the  Jews  from 
law,  was  on  the  point  of  prevailing.  This  made  the 
situation  very  unpleasant  for  the  Gentiles,  compelling 
them  to  choose  between  a  division  of  the  church  and 
subjection  on  their  part  to  the  whole  law,  including 
perhaps  eventually  the  rite  of  circumcision.  This 
pressure  upon  the  Gentiles  Paul  describes  in  Gal.  2 :  14 
as  an  "attempt  to  compel  them  to  Judaize." 

It  was  another  real  crisis  in  Paul's  battle  for  the 
freedom  of  the  gospel.  Paul's  sense  of  injustice  was 
aggravated  by  Peter's  inconsistency.  Peter  had  indi- 
cated by  his  eating  with  the  Gentiles  that  he  believed 
in  Christian  liberty.  By  withdrawing  he  seemed  to 
show  that  he  could  allow  his  outward  conduct  to  differ 
from  his  inward  conviction.  The  vigorous  way  in 
which  Paul  gripped  and  handled  the  situation  is  not 
unlike  some  of  his  later  powerful  strokes  in  meeting 
crises  in  Galatia  and  in  Corinth. 

The  sharp  rebuke  which  he  addressed  to  Peter  was 
given  added  weight  and  poignancy  by  the  fact  that  it 
was  a  public  one  "before  them  all."    Those  words  of 


EMANCIPATING  THE  GOSPEL  107 

Jesus  at  Caesarea  Philippi,  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan," 
were  intense,  but  in  a  measure  they  were  privately 
spoken.  Paul's  words,  too,  were  intense.  They  were 
double-edged.  "If  thou  being  a  Jew  livest  as  do  the 
Gentiles  ....  how  compellest  thou  the  Gentiles  to 
live  as  do  the  Jews  ?  "  And  the  fact  that  the  rebuke  was 
public  certainly  had  its  effect  upon  Peter  and  upon  the 
whole  audience.  How  complete  Paul's  success  was  is 
not  told.  Probably  the  result  was  to  bring  the  whole 
church  back  to  Paul's  viewpoint.  In  favor  of  this  view 
is  the  statement  of  Acts  18:22,  23,  that  Paul  returned 
and  spent  some  time  here  after  his  next  missionary 
journey. 

Incidentally  the  study  of  the  Antioch  crisis  makes  it 
possible  to  understand  the  probable  origin  of  the  docu- 
ment of  Acts,  chap.  15,  containing  the  "decrees."  For 
centuries,  especially  since  the  conquests  of  Alexander 
the  Great,  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem  and  of  Palestine  had 
been  confronted  with  the  problem  of  association  with 
men  of  other  nations  who  wished  to  live  in  Palestine.  To 
meet  the  situation  a  list  of  "seven  Noachian  prohibi- 
tions" was  drawn  up.  Jews  might  associate  with  any 
Gentile  who  observed  these  seven  restrictions.  There 
is  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  the  seven  were 
primarily  moral  or  ceremonial.  Hence  there  is  also  ques- 
tion as  to  whether  the  prohibitions  in  Acts  coincide  with 
three  or  possibly  with  four  of  the  Noachian.  But  the 
general  connection  of  the  tw:o  Ksts  is  clear. 

There  probably  arose,  then,  in  Palestine  among  early 
Christians  this  same  question.  How  far  could  Jewish 
Christians  associate  with  gentile  Christians  and  still  be 
known  as  good  Jews?    Apparently  the  apostles  in  an 


lo8  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

effort  to  conciliate  the  extreme  legalists  reached  a  com- 
promise decision  that  among  Jewish  Christians  three  or 
four  of  the  seven  restrictions  would  be  placed  upon  the 
gentile  believer,  not  as  a  basis  of  Christian  standing,  but 
as  a  basis  of  association  with  Jews.  His  faith  in  Christ 
would  be  considered  as  a  just  equivalent  for  obedience 
to  the  omitted  prohibitions.  Thus  association  together 
in  one  church  would  be  possible.  Just  when  this  ques- 
tion arose  and  this  decision  was  reached  is  uncertain. 
Paul  would  not  naturally  be  concerned  with  it  or  be  in 
sympathy  with  any  other  than  a  very  local  application 
of  it.  It  is,  however,  quite  possible  that  at  some  time 
there  was  an  attempt  to  extend  its  validity  as  far  as 
Antioch  in  order  to  avoid  recurrence  of  such  unpleasant 
scenes  as  Paul's  public  rebuke  of  Peter. 

The  general  effect  upon  Paul  of  the  Peter  incident 
and  of  later  related  controversies  was  to  drive  him  to 
very  clear  statements  of  his  position  regarding  the  Jewish 
law  and  the  freedom  of  the  gospel.  The  early  Jewish- 
Christian  ideal  seems  to  have  been  to  admit  certain 
Gentiles  generously  into  the  fold  and  possibly  in  certain 
ways  to  associate  with  them  as  Jesus  had  associated  with 
the  "publicans  and  sinners."  In  contrast  to  this  Paul 
took  the  radical  stand  upheld  in  Gal.  2 :  i6,  19;  3 :  23,  24; 
II  Cor.  3:6,  and  many  other  passages  that  the  Mosaic 
law  is  utterly  worthless  as  a  direct  means  of  making  a 
man  acceptable  to  God.  The  gospel  of  freedom  is  the 
only  true  gospel.  Jesus  had  told  his  disciples  that  the 
spirit  was  above  the  letter  of  the  law,  that  the  letter 
might  be  broken  on  occasion  if  it  conflicted  with  the 
higher  law,  ''Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 
Paul  took  the  position  that  the  law  had  in  Christ  been 


EMANCIPATING  THE  GOSPEL  109 

entirely  done  away.  It  was  meant  for  children,  keeping 
them  in  ward  till  Christ  should  come  (Gal.  3 :  23).  The 
man  who  is  in  Christ  is  full  grown.  In  fact  the  keeping 
of  the  law  has  a  blinding  and  deadening  effect  which  is 
quite  out  of  line  with  the  free  exercise  of  the  spirit  of 
love  in  Christ. 

In  looking  back  over  the  course  of  Paul's  battle  for 
the  emancipation  of  the  gospel  from  Jewish  legalism  it 
is  possible  to  distinguish  three  stages  of  advance. 

1.  At  Jerusalem,  Paul  was  successful  in  establishing 
the  principle  that  the  gospel  may  be  preached  to  the 
Gentiles  without  laying  upon  them  any  pressure  to 
become  Jews  by  rite  of  circumcision. 

2.  At  Antioch,  before  the  arrival  of  delegates  from 
Jerusalem,  Paul  won  such  a  recognition  of  Christian 
brotherhood  as  permitted  fraternal  association  between 
Jewish  Christians  and  gentile  Christians.  The  confer- 
ence at  Jerusalem  which  sanctioned  Paul's  gospel  for 
gentile  territory  was  quite  properly  interpreted  as 
approving  complete  fellowship  in  a  gentile  church.  So 
successful  was  Paul  in  presenting  and  fostering  this 
liberal  point  of  view  that  not  only  Barnabas  but  Peter 
himself  fell  in  with  this  new  custom. 

3.  Peter's  withdrawal,  carrying  back  all  the  Jews, 
even  Barnabas  included,  showed  Paul  the  fundamental 
narrowness  of  the  Jewish  attitude.  Paul  advanced  to 
that  third  and  lofty  vantage  ground  from  which  he 
never  retreated.  The  whole  Jewish  law  is  of  no  use 
whatsoever  as  a  way  of  winning  favor  with  God.  Christ 
is  all-sufficient.  The  gospel  was  intended  directly  for 
the  world.  The  Jewish- Christian  attitude  that  Gen- 
tiles may  be  received  into  the  Jewish  Kingdom  Paul 


no  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

completely  reversed.  He  invited  Jews  to  join  that 
world-kingdom  in  which  the  only  law  is  the  spirit  of 
Christ.     The  letter  killeth,  but  the  spirit  giveth  life. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READING 

1.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  ihe  Traveller,  pp.  152-77. 

2.  Kent,  Work  and  Teachings  of  the  Apostles,  pp.  94-99. 

3.  Gilbert,  Student's  Life  of  Paul,  pp.  87-106. 

4.  Conybeare  and  Howson,  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paid,  chap.  vii. 

5.  Farrar,  Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  chaps,  xxii,  xxiii. 

6.  Bible  for  Home  and  School,  "Acts,"  pp.  147-54. 

7.  McGiffert,   A   History   of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age, 
pp.  192-217. 

8.  Bacon,  The  Story  of  St.  Paid,  pp.  107-46. 

9.  Cone,  Paul,  pp.  69-94. 


CHAPTER  VII 

"COME  OVER  INTO  MACEDONIA" 

1.  Revisiting  the  Churches 

Acts  15:36 — 16:8 

2.  At  Philippi 

Acts  16:9-40 

3.  At  Thessalonica 

I   Thess.    1:2 — 2:14;    Acts    17:1-9;    II   Thess.    3:8; 
Phil.  4:16 

4.  At  Beroea 

Acts  17:10-15 

I.      REVISITING   THE   CHURCHES 

After  the  stormy  events  at  Jerusalem  and  at  Antioch 
Paul  naturally  became  anxious  about  the  welfare  of  the 
churches  which  he  and  Barnabas  had  founded.  As  he 
had  now  become  the  leading  spirit,  it  was  he  who  pro- 
posed to  Barnabas  that  they  revisit  their  new  "  brothers  " 
and  see  "how  they  fare."  The  disagreement  which 
ensued  between  them  must  have  been  very  unpleasant 
for  both. 

Paul  remembered  how  Mark  had  forsaken  them  in 
the  piiddle  of  the  first  journey.  He  felt  that  the  task  of 
establishing  the  gospel  throughout  the  Roman  Empire 
needed  such  resolute  courage  as  Jesus  had  in  mind  when 
he  said,  "No  man  having  put  his  hand  to  the  plow  and 
looking  back  is  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  God  "  (Luke  9 :  62). 
But  Mark  was  Barnabas'  own  cousin,  and  Barnabas  was 
determined  to  give  him  another  chance.  So  the  separa- 
tion came.     Paul's  attitude  doubtless  proved  a  strong 


112  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

incentive  to  Mark  to  make  himself  worthy  of  Barnabas' 
confidence.  In  any  case  Mark's  influence  was  a  growing 
one,  even  down  to  the  day  when  he  wrote  what  is  our 
earliest  extant  life  of  Christ. 

It  is  also  possible  that  Paul's  plans  for  the  journey 
were  too  ambitious  for  Barnabas.  They  may  have 
seemed  visionary  and  impracticable.  The  act  of  Bar- 
nabas in  siding  with  Peter  (Gal.  2:11)  may  also  have 
disturbed  the  formerly  close  friendship.  Perhaps,  too, 
there  was  a  difference  in  regard  to  the  route  which  they 
should  take,  Paul  desiring  to  visit  his  own  home  first 
and  the  cities  of  Asia  Minor,  while  Barnabas  wished  first 
to  visit  his  own  home  in  C5^rus  and  the  disciples  there. 

Although  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  "men  of  like 
passions"  with  others,  as  they  told  the  crowd  at  Lystra, 
they  did  not  part  as  enemies.  They  acted  in  a  logical 
and  Christian  way.  They  divided  the  churches  into 
two  groups,  Barnabas  setting  sail  from  the  Seleucia  pier 
for  Cyprus,  Paul  accepting  responsibility  for  the  churches 
of  the  mainland.  The  work  on  the  island  must  have 
flourished,  for  Cyprus  afterward  became  prominent  in 
early  Christian  history.  Meanwhile  Paul,  looking  about 
for  a  suitable  companion,  chose  Silas,  whose  work  and 
character  he  had  been  observing  for  some  time. 

Setting  out  from  Antioch  by  the  land  route,  Paul  and 
Silas  on  their  first  day's  journey  traveled  along  the  pic- 
turesque road  up  through  the  Syrian  Gates  in  the  little 
range  of  hills  which  every  tourist  must  cross  today  in 
riding  from  Antioch  to  the  modern  port  at  Alexandretta. 
As  the  path  then  led  them  out  of  sight  of  the  city  of 
Antioch,  Paul  and  Silas  would  be  talking  together,  not 
only  of  revisiting  churches  already  founded,   but  of 


"COME  OVER  INTO  MACEDONIA"  113 

carrying  the  news  to  far  more  distant  countries.  After 
following  the  shore  for  a  few  miles  they  came  to  Issus. 
Probably  they  slept  there  the  first  night,  within  sound 
of  the  waves  of  the  Mediterranean.  Paul  would  remem- 
ber the  history  of  the  city  as  clearly  as  any  American 
remembers  the  story  of  Bunker  Hill  or  Lexington.  He 
knew  that  the  battle  which  Alexander  had  here  fought 
decided  that  the  culture  of  Macedonia  should  penetrate 
Syria  and  Palestine.  Perhaps  he  resolved  that  night 
in  some  dim  way  that  the  new  religion  of  Palestine,  going 
in  the  reverse  direction,  should  penetrate  if  possible  even 
to  Macedonia.  We  have  already  noted  the  interesting 
coincidence  that  Paul  journeyed  with  the  power  of  the 
gospel  through  Asia  Minor  and  over  into  Macedonia  by 
practically  the  same  route  which  Alexander  had  traversed 
with  his  phalanxes  on  his  eastward  march. 

At  the  end  of  a  second  or  perhaps  a  third  day  the 
riders  would  reach  Tarsus.  Paul  would  be  glad  to  see 
his  home  again  even  if  only  for  a  few  days.  Perhaps 
there  was  a  Christian  church  there,  for  Acts  15:41  speaks 
of  "confirming  the  churches  of  Syria  and  Cilicia."  But 
the  tone  of  Luke's  narrative  harmonizes,  as  it  frequently 
does,  with  Paul's  desire  to  proceed  rapidly.  We  hear 
nothing  of  his  greeting  former  friends,  nothing  of  his 
family,  nothing  of  the  fruits  of  the  gospel  in  his  own  city, 
for  Paul's  thoughts  were  on  more  distant  scenes. 

Leaving  Tarsus  he  crossed  the  Taurus  Mountains 
by  the  Cihcian  Gates  through  which  Alexander  had  come, 
and  through  which  Cyrus  had  marched  with  his  10,000 
Greeks.  Four  long  days  of  travel  brought  him  to 
familiar  localities  at  Derbe.  Again  we  have  no  details 
concerning  his  meeting  with  his  Christian  friends,  his 


114  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

answers  to  their  inquiries  about  Barnabas,  his  introdu- 
cing of  Silas,  nor  any  account  of  the  effect  of  news  con- 
cerning the  council. 

At  Lystra  Paul  found  the  helper  who  should  fill  the 
place  of  Mark,  as  Silas  had  filled  the  place  of  Barnabas. 
Timothy  and  his  mother  had  apparently  been  converted 
on  the  apostle's  first  visit.  And  when  on  his  first  journey 
he  had  retraced  his  steps  to  the  same  town  he  had  prob- 
ably given  Timothy  especial  work  to  do.  For  when 
Paul  now  for  the  third  time  came  to  Lystra  he  found 
Timothy  well  reported  of  not  only  at  Lystra,  but  at 
Iconium,  eighteen  miles  away. 

Paul  has  been  much  criticized  for  circumcising 
Timothy.  This  yielding  to  Jewish  legalism,  especially 
after  the  Jerusalem  council  at  which  Paul  had  stood  his 
ground  in  regard  to  Titus,  does  seem  strange.  But  Paul 
felt  that  neither  circumcision  availeth  anything  "nor 
uncircumcision "  (Gal.  5:6).  His  attitude  indicates  a 
dominating  elevation  of  soul  which  was  far  above  insist- 
ence upon  uniformity  in  any  matter  of  ceremonial.  The 
all-important  consideration  was  the  publishing  of  the 
gospel  to  the  world.  To  this  end  Paul  had  his  definite 
policy  of  approaching  the  Jews  first  in  each  city  to  which 
he  came.  It  was  the  natural  and  logical  way.  Unless 
he  were  to  shut  himself  out  from  the  company  of  those 
who  were  of  primary  instrumental  importance  in  his 
enterprise,  his  immediate  helpers  must  be  Jews. 

After  visiting  Derbe  and  Lystra  "they  went  through 
the  region  of  Phrygia  and  Galatia,  having  been  forbidden 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  speak  the  word  in  Asia"  (Acts 
16:6).  The  usual  view  of  this  verse  has  been  that  Paul 
in  his  onward  journey  from  Lystra,  reaching  the  border 


"COME  OVER  INTO  MACEDONIA"  115 

of  the  province  of  Asia,  was  turned  northward  through 
Phrygia;  that  after  traversing  Phrygia  he  came  to  the 
region  of  Galatia,  so  named  after  the  Gauls  who  had 
migrated  from  Europe;  that  he  here  founded  churches 
in  various  cities,  perhaps  including  Ancyra;  and  that  it 
was  to  these  churches  that  he  afterward  addressed  the 
letter  "to  the  Galatians."  This  view  is  now  known  as 
the  North  Galatian  theory, 

A  difficulty  with  this  view  is  the  absence  of  any  state- 
ment that  Paul  founded  a  series  of  new  churches.  The 
impression  of  the  narrative  is  that  Paul  was  hastening 
through  toward  Macedonia,  passing  by  the  intermediate 
possibilities  in  Asia,  in  Bithynia,  and  in  Mysia.  Another 
objection  is  that  the  phrase  "region  of  Phrygia  and 
Galatia"^  naturally  means  not  two  regions  but  one  region, 
which  was  both  Phrygian  and  Galatic.  Still  another 
factor  is  the  statement  in  the  letter  to  the  Galatians 
(4:13)  that  it  was  because  of  illness  that  he  first  preached 
the  gospel  to  them.  The  climate  and  general  conditions 
of  the  northern  district  hardly  adapted  it  to  be  a  retreat 
for  an  invalid. 

The  South  Galatian  view  takes  as  its  starting-point 
the  fact  that  the  Roman  province  of  Galatia  included 
not  only  the  northern  ethnic  Galatia,  but  also  several 
other  small  states,  and  in  particular  included,  in  its 
southern  part,  Derbe,  Lystra,  Iconium,  Antioch.  Gala- 
tia is  used  in  this  larger  sense  in  I  Pet.  1:1.  In  this 
province  of  Galatia  one  part  was  Phrygian.  Luke's 
phrase  may  refer,  then,  to  the  district  which  is  both 
Phrygian  and  Galatian,  viz.,  the  Phrygian  portion  of 
the  province  of  Galatia.     Only  a  part  of  Phrygia  was 

I  -rrjii  ^pvylav  Kal  TaKariKijv  xwpa;'. 


Ii6  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

incorporated  in  Galatia.  There  was  also  a  Phrygia  of 
Asia.  Hence  the  necessity  of  the  double  designation, 
"the  region  of  Phrygia  and  Galatia." 

In  Luke's  geography  Galatian  Phrygia  included 
Iconium  and  Antioch.  Derbe  and  Lystra  were  in 
Lycaonia.  Cicero  speaks  of  Iconium  as  Lycaonian,  but 
Xenophon  refers  to  it  as  Phrygian.  Acts  14:6  shows 
that  Luke  did  not  think  of  it  as  Lycaonian.  For  him  it 
was  over  the  line  in  Phrygia. 

The  South  Galatian  view,  then,  holds  that  Paul  after 
visiting  Derbe  and  Lystra  (16:1)  went  through  the 
Phrygian  Galatian  region,  in  particular  through  Iconium 
and  Antioch.  He  was  not  expecting  at  first  to  go  in  this 
direction  as  far  as  Antioch,  but  was  going  to  join  the 
main  highroad,  which  entered  Asia  at  a  point  consider- 
ably east  of  Antioch.  A  glance  at  the  map  will  show 
that  from  Iconium  it  is  three  times  as  far  to  Antioch  as 
to  the  nearest  point  of  Asia.  But  "having  been  for- 
bidden of  the  Holy  Spirit"  he  did  not  yet  enter  Asia, 
but  stayed  in  the  province  of  Galatia,  journeying  through 
the  region  of  Phrygia  in  Galatia. 

On  this  view,  since  Paul  did  not  visit  ethnic  Galatia 
at  all,  the  letter  to  the  Galatians  was  addressed  to  the 
churches  of  the  first  missionary  journey,  Derbe,  Lystra, 
Iconium,  Antioch.  He  refers  to  his  readers  as  "Gala- 
tians" (3:1),  not  only  because  as  a  Roman  citizen  he  was 
accustomed  to  use  Roman  designations,  but  also  because 
it  was  the  only  common  term  by  which  he  could  collec- 
tively address  both  Lycaonians  and  Phrygians.  The 
iUness  of  which  he  writes  (4: 13)  was  probably,  as  stated 
before  in  connection  with  the  first  journey,  a  malarial 
fever  contracted  on  the  coast,  for  which  the  altitudes  of 


"COME  OVER  INTO  MACEDONIA"  117 

the  South  Galatian  cities,  averaging  over  3,500  feet, 
would  be  exceedingly  beneficial.  And  the  repeated 
references  to  Barnabas  which  he  makes  in  the  epistle 
(cf.  especially  2:9,  13)  were  allusions  to  the  apostle  with 
whom  they  became  so  well  acquainted  on  that  first 
missionary  journey. 

In  any  case  as  Paul  journeyed  he  was  guided  by  the 
Spirit  of  Jesus  westward  and  northward.  Just  what 
form  this  guidance  assumed  is  not  stated.  Perhaps 
Paul  met  obstacles  through  which  the  spirit  spoke.  This 
is  suggested  by  the  words  "forbidden"  and  "suffered 
not."  Yet  it  is  quite  as  possible  that  Paul  had  within 
him  some  vision  of  distant  conquest  through  which  the 
Spirit  called  and  led.  When  he  essayed  to  go  into 
Bithynia  the  Spirit  again  told  him  this  was  not  his  goal. 
Perhaps  along  with  the  impulse  to  go  yet  farther  was 
some  dim  idea  of  reaching  a  point  where  Jewish  opposi- 
tion would  not  be  as  violent  as  in  some  cases  on  the  first 
journey — some  large  and  important  city  where  there 
was  no  synagogue  to  arouse  organized  opposition.  Cer- 
tainly it  is  interesting  to  look  forward  and  to  note  that 
at  Philippi  there  was  no  synagogue  and  that  the  Philip- 
pian  Christians  later  constituted  his  most  loyal  church. 

2,      AT  PHILIPPI 

The  "Spirit  of  Jesus"  directed  Paul  onward  as  far  as 
Troas  on  the  coast.  Even  here  he  did  not  pause.  He 
saw  in  a  vision  a  man  of  Macedonia  beseeching  him, 
"Come  over  and  help  us."  A  psychological  occasion  of 
this  vision  is  perhaps  suggested  by  the  sudden  introduc- 
tion of  the  pronoun  "we"  in  Acts  16: 10.  It  is  the  first 
time  that  the  pronoun  has  occurred  in  this  way  in  the 


Ii8  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Book  of  Acts.  A  further  study  of  these  "we"  sections 
makes  it  seem  probable  that  the  author  of  the  narrative 
joined  Paul  at  this  point  and  continued  with  him  to 
Philippi  and  helped  in  the  work  there.  The  use  of  the 
pronoun  ceases  at  Philippi  after  Acts  i6: 17  as  abruptly 
as  it  began.  In  20:5  the  pronoun  reappears  again  at 
Philippi  on  the  third  journey.  The  author  was  then 
perhaps  a  man  of  Philippi,  who,  being  in  Troas  on  other 
business  or  having  come  there  for  that  purpose,  had 
invited  Paul  to  go  to  Macedonia  to  preach  the  gospel. 
This  invitation  as  Paul  pondered  on  it  prepared  the  way 
for  the  vision  which  decided  him  to  go. 

The  greatness  of  Paul's  plans  at  this  time  and  always 
forbids  us  to  see  in  the  man  of  Macedonia  merely  the 
individual  Luke,  even  if  the  vision-man  had  his  features. 
The  great  importance  Paul  attached  to  his  vision  sug- 
gests rather  that  whoever  the  individual  seemed  to  be 
he  was  essentially  the  incarnation  of  the  needs  of  Mace- 
donia for  the  gospel  story. 

It  may  be  remarked  in  passing  that  these  "we" 
sections  (16:10-17;  20:5-15;  21:1-18;  27:1 — 28:16) 
were  evidently  copied  out  of  a  diary  which  Luke  kept 
at  the  time  of  the  incidents  recorded  and  constitute  a 
first-hand  historical  source  of  great  value  (cf.  p.  2). 

Having  now  a  definite  piece  of  work  before  them  the 
four  comrades  set  sail  from  Troas.  Disembarking  at 
Neapolis,  they  proceeded  nine  miles  inland  to  Philippi. 
This  city  was  larger  and  more  important  than  any  of  the 
cities  of  the  first  missionary  journey.  It  was  Paul's 
first  stopping-place  on  this  second  journey.  Each 
important  center  of  Paul's  activity  was  larger  than  any 
of   the   preceding.     Their    historical    order    on    Paul's 


"COME  OVER  INTO  MACEDNOIA"  119 

journeys  was  the  order  of  climax.  Thessalonica  was 
more  important  than  Philippi,  and  Corinth  greater  than 
either.  Ephesus,  where  he  labored  three  years  on  his 
third  missionary  journey,  was  greater  than  any  city 
visited  on  his  previous  journeys.  Rome  was  the  last 
and  greatest  of  all. 

Philippi  was  a  Roman  colony.  Luke  notes  the  fact 
with  some  pride.  Brutus  and  Cassius  after  their  assas- 
sination of  Julius  Caesar  fled  toward  the  east.  At 
Philippi  in  42  B.C.  they  were  defeated  in  battle  by 
Anthony  and  the  young  Octavius,  afterward  the  emperor 
Augustus.  It  was  in  honor  of  this  occasion  that  Augus- 
tus made  the  city  a  colony,  giving  it  a  government  like 
that  of  Rome  itself  and  declaring  all  its  citizens  to  be 
Roman  citizens.  It  was  as  though  a  piece  of  the  city  of 
Rome  had  been  transferred  to  this  spot. 

Luke  also  calls  it  the  first  city  of  the  district,  a 
designation  which  is  hardly  correct,  since  Amphipolis  in 
the  same  district  ranked  ahead  of  it.  The  little  state- 
ment reminds  us  forcefully  that  we  are  reading  Luke's 
estimate  of  his  own  native  city.  In  his  opinion  it  was 
the  first  city.  It  is  not  at  all  likely  that  Luke's  state- 
ment should  be  understood  as  meaning  that  Philippi 
was  the  first  Roman  ''colony"  of  the  district.  Luke  was 
thinking  of  his  city's  history  and  influence  and  possi- 
bilities. It  is  the  only  city  which  he  favors  with  such 
special  description. 

While  there  was  no  synagogue  at  Philippi,  there  were 
Jews  there  who  on  the  Sabbath  met  at  an  appointed 
place  of  prayer  outside  the  city.  They  chose  a  spot 
near  the  river,  perhaps  for  the  sake  of  their  ceremonial 
washings.     Luke  had  probably  often  visited  the  spot. 


I20  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

He  was  certainly  one  of  those  devout  Greeks  who 
feared  God. 

Lydia  was  a  native  of  the  Lydian  city  of  Thyatira, 
one  of  the  seven  cities  of  Asia  Minor  to  which  the 
letters  in  the  Book  of  Revelation  were  afterward  ad- 
dressed. She  was  a  woman  of  some  means  who  had 
opened  a  store  or  bazaar  in  PhiHppi.  Paul's  gospel  of 
the  new  life  of  fraternity  in  mystic  communion  with 
the  risen  Jesus  made  a  strong  appeal  to  her.  She  not 
only  came  out  openly  on  the  side  of  the  new  gospel, 
but  she  did  the  apostles  a  much-needed  and  much- 
appreciated  service  by  offering  her  home  as  a  meeting- 
place.  Her  house  was  probably  larger  than  Luke's. 
This  would  explain  why  the  apostles  preferred  to  take  up 
their  abode  there. 

Luke's  diary,  then,  opened  with  this  story  of  a 
woman's  part  in  the  service  of  the  Kingdom.  The 
second  incident,  too,  is  about  a  woman.  Luke  in  his 
two  books,  the  Gospel  and  the  Acts,  has  preserved  more 
narratives  about  women  in  their  relation  to  Christianity 
than  all  the  rest  of  the  New  Testament  writers  put 
together.  Paul,  too,  often  mentions  the  names  of  women 
in  his  churches.  Two  at  PhiHppi  are  named  in  Phil.  4:2. 
In  Gal.  3:28  Paul  says  there  is  no  distinction  in  the  gos- 
pel between  male  and  female.  The  whole  early  Chris- 
tian attitude  was  in  marked  contrast  to  the  prayer  in 
the  Jewish  liturgy  in  which  the  worshipers  offer  thanks 
that  they  were  not  born  women. 

In  the  second  incident  of  Luke's  diary  he  narrates 
that  the  evangelists  made  the  acquaintance  of  "a  certain 
maid  who  had  a  spirit  of  divination."  The  expression 
was  a  common  one,  indicating  that  the  girl  practiced 


"COME  OVER  INTO  MACEDONIA"  121 

ventriloquism.  The  art  was  popularly  so  little  under- 
stood that  the  peculiar  voice  of  the  ventriloquist  passed 
for  the  voice  of  a  spirit.  This  girl,  who  took  in  "much 
money"  for  her  masters,  apparently  had  a  fairly  good 
mind.  It  is  not  unhkely  that  she  was  very  unhappy  in 
her  life  of  subjection  and  slavery.  The  preaching  of 
Paul  and  his  companions  concerning  the  freedom  that 
is  in  Christ  appealed  to  her  as  soon  as  she  heard  it.  She 
cried  out  after  them  that  they  were  true  men  of  God.  But 
she  could  not  break  with  her  profession  and  her  masters, 
until  one  day  after  several  such  scenes  Paul  turned  to 
her  and  in  the  name  of  Jesus  released  her  mind  from  its 
bondage. 

When  her  masters  saw  that  the  hope  of  their  gain 
was  gone  they  set  out  to  prosecute  Paul  and  Silas  and 
dragged  them  into  court.  How  deeply  the  following 
events  impressed  Paul  with  a  sense  of  injustice  is  shown 
by  a  later  reference  in  a  letter  to  Thessalonica,  his  next 
stopping-place.  In  I  Thess.  2:2  he  writes  of  "having 
suffered  before  and  been  shamefully  treated  as  ye  know 
at  Philippi."  The  masters  of  the  girl  were  angered,  not 
only  at  being  robbed  of  the  girl's  services,  but  probably 
also  by  the  fear  that  their  other  slaves  would  be  similarly 
reformed.  They  took  advantage  of  that  race  prejudice 
against  the  Jews  which  was  present  everywhere  in  the 
empire.  This  was  the  very  year  in  which  Claudius 
expelled  the  Jews  from  Rome  (Acts  18:2).  They 
succeeded  in  bringing  a  crowd  into  the  court  which  made 
a  demonstration.  The  easy-going  Roman  ofHcials  felt 
that  the  best  solution  of  the  situation  was  to  have  the 
apostles  publicly  punished  and  then  put  out  of  sight 
into   jail.      This   must   have   been   one   of   the   three 


122  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

instances  of  being  "beaten  with  rods"  which  Paul  men- 
tions in  II  Cor.  ii :  25. 

Paul  and  Silas,  thrown  into  prison,  immediately 
began  telling  the  "good  news"  to  their  fellow-prisoners. 
As  these  listened  to  Paul's  description  of  his  former  life 
of  bondage  and  darkness  and  guilt  and  to  the  strongly 
contrasted  portrayal  of  his  later  Damascus  experience  of 
liberty  and  light  and  justification,  they  would  forget 
the  fetters  and  the  darkness  and  the  prison  walls.  The 
place  would  be  filled  with  praying  and  singing. 

Meanwhile  Timothy  and  Luke  had  not  been  idle. 
We  may  suppose  that  they  had  insistently  demanded  an 
interview  with  the  magistrates.  The  information  that 
Paul  and  Silas  were  Roman  citizens  must  certainly  have 
come  as  a  shock  to  these  officials.  In  view  of  their 
offense,  even  though  it  were  unwitting,  they  might  well 
tremble  for  their  official  position  in  such  a  case  as  this. 
At  about  the  same  time  the  earthquake  shook  the  founda- 
tions of  the  prison  and  opened  its  doors  for  Paul  and 
Silas.  Earthquakes  were  not  uncommon  in  Mediterra- 
nean lands.  When  the  officials  sent  word  to  have  the 
apostles  set  free,  the  messengers  reported  not  only 
that  prisoners,  and  jailer  too,  had  been  converted,  but 
that  the  apostles  demanded  as  a  reparation  for  their 
injustice  that  the  officials  come  in  person  and  escort 
them  from  the  prison.  It  is  possible  that  Paul  and 
Silas  made  this  demand,  not  merely  to  vindicate  them- 
selves before  their  fellow-prisoners,  but  also  to  protect 
the  converted  jailer;  for  the  magistrates,  learning  of  his 
conversion,  might  later  have  blamed  the  jailer  for  the 
escape  of  the  apostles  and  have  deprived  him  of  his 
position. 


"COME  OVER  INTO  MACEDONIA"  123 

The  papyrus  sheets  from  the  first  century  give  us 
several  ghmpses  into  the  prison  Hfe  of  the  day  and  into 
the  hopeless  spirit  of  most  victims.  The  influence 
which  Paul  and  Silas  had  over  their  fellow-prisoners 
stands  out  in  sharp  contrast  to  the  usual  whining  and 
complaining  (cf.  Flinders  Petrie,  Pap.  Ill,  35,  36). 

When  Paul  and  Silas  left  the  prison  they  went  back 
to  the  house  of  Lydia.  After  conferring  with  the  com- 
pany of  disciples  they  decided  to  follow  the  request  of 
the  officials  and  leave  the  city.  It  was  not  Paul's  plan 
to  win  whole  cities  to  righteousness.  The  gospel  was 
rather  to  be  planted  in  the  great  centers,  as  seed  is 
quietly  sown  in  selected  ground. 

Later  references  show  how  well  Paul  had  planted  at 
Philippi.  In  his  letter  to  the  Philippians  there  is  more 
affectionate  regard  and  more  appreciation  of  service 
rendered  than  in  any  other  letter  of  the  New  Testament. 
Here  arose  Paul's  most  loyal  church.  The  Philippians 
sent  money  to  assist  him  in  his  work  in  Thessalonica, 
and  then  sent  a  second  time  to  Thessalonica,  as  men- 
tioned in  Pliil.  4: 16.  Later  they  sent  aid  during  Paul's 
stay  in  Corinth,  as  he  relates  with  feeling  in  II  Cor.  11:9. 
Finally  when  he  was  in  prison  they  overwhelmed  him 
with  an  especially  bountiful  gift,  for  which  he  can 
hardly  fiind  adequate  words  of  appreciation  (Phil.  4: 18). 

3.      AT   THESSALONICA 

Amphipolis  and  ApoUonia  were  cities  of  considerable 
size.  In  passing  through  both  without  stopping  Paul 
showed  his  impatience  to  reach  the  very  center  of  Mace- 
donian life.  Thessalonica,  about  ninety  miles  from 
Philippi,  had  recently,  in  44  a.d,,  become  the  home  of  the 


124  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

governor  and  government  of  the  whole  province  of 
Macedonia.  The  strategic  importance  of  "Saloniki" 
has  been  vividly  shown  in  modern  times  in  the  military- 
reports  of  the  world-war.  The  city  had  had  a  great 
history.  It  was  mentioned  frequently  by  Herodotus 
and  Thucydides  under  the  name  "Thermae."  Xerxes 
stopped  here  on  his  march  into  Greece.  In  315  B.C. 
it  was  rebuilt  by  Cassander  and  named  Thessalonica, 
after  the  sister  of  Alexander  the  Great.  Cicero  spent 
some  time  here  in  exile.  Rome  allowed  it  to  have  its 
own  government,  making  it  a  "free  city."  The  appear- 
ance of  the  city  as  seen  from  the  sea  was  a  striking  one. 
Like  Genoa,  it  was  built  in  the  shape  of  a  great  amphi- 
theater looking  out  upon  the  gulf. 

Concerning  the  beginning  of  the  gospel  in  Thes- 
salonica Paul  himself  gives  a  long  description  and  much 
detailed  information  in  I  Thessalonians.  He  says  in 
1:9  concerning  "what  manner  of  entering  in  we  had 
unto  you,"  that  they  "turned  from  idols."  This  shows 
that  most  of  the  Thessalonian  Christians  had  been 
Gentiles  rather  than  Jews  or  "devout  Greeks";  for 
these  were  not  worshipers  of  idols.  The  Jewish  element 
in  the  church  was  so  small  that  he  could  thus  practically 
ignore  it  in  writing  his  letter. 

As  Paul  continues  his  recital  in  I  Thessalonians  he 
draws  a  contrast  (2 :  i  f .)  between  his  shameful  treatment 
at  Philippi  and  his  cordial  welcome  and  the  large  response 
to  his  message  at  Thessalonica.  Their  faith  had  not 
been  shaken  even  when  severe  persecution  and  affliction 
ensued  (1:6;  2:14).  Paul  indicates  further  that  his 
stay  in  Thessalonica  was  of  considerable  duration,  some 
months  at  the  least,  for  he  refers  at  length  to  his  manner 


"COME  OVER  INTO  MACEDONIA"  125 

of  life  among  them.  Then,  too,  although  he  worked 
"night  and  day,"  he  stayed  long  enough  to  want  the 
assistance  of  the  Philippian  Christians  who,  hearing  of 
his  need,  sent  to  his  aid,  and  again  later  hearing  of  his 
situation  sent  help  a  second  time  (Phil.  4:16).  This 
prolonged  ministry  had  its  personal  as  well  as  its  public 
side.  "We  dealt  with  each  one  of  you  as  a  father  with 
his  own  children"  (2:11).  "Ye  were  become  very  dear 
to  us"  (2:8). 

Paul's  words  thus  reflect  a  successful  work  of  several 
months  at  Thessalonica,  chiefly  among  the  Gentiles. 
The  incompleteness  of  Luke's  narrative  in  Acts  is  at 
once  apparent.  With  only  his  narrative  we  should 
suppose  that  Paul  did  not  remain  long  after  the  "three 
sabbath  days"  of  Acts  17:2.  Again,  although  Luke 
speaks  of  a  "great  multitude"  of  the  "devout  Greeks," 
he  does  not  narrate  any  departure  from  the  synagogue 
with  consequent  turning  to  the  Gentiles.  After  describ- 
ing the  first  three  weeks  he  turns  immediately  to  the 
events  connected  with  Paul's  departure.  The  incom- 
pleteness of  his  narrative  at  this  point  is  in  sharp  con- 
trast with  the  accuracy  and  fulness  of  the  "we"  sections 
in  which  he  is  telling  what  he  himself  witnessed  and 
shared  in.  In  one  respect,  however,  he  is  notably 
accurate.  He  refers  to  the  magistrates  of  Thessalonica 
as  "politarchs,"  a  title  found  nowhere  else  in  literature, 
though  abundantly  attested  by  inscriptions. 

The  Jews  "being  moved  with  jealousy"  and  with  a 
genuine  concern  for  the  prestige  of  their  great  Jewish 
religion,  stirred  up  a  mob.  The  law  of  Rome  demanded 
toleration  of  religious  beliefs.  Hence  the  accusation 
against  the  newcomers  was  not  a  religious  but  a  political 


126  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

one.  The  charge  was  that,  in  preaching  a  spiritual  king- 
dom of  brotherhood  to  appear  in  the  near  future,  they 
were  in  reaHty  anarchists  in  that  they  were  unsettKjig 
people's  minds  toward  the  Roman  government.  Paul 
and  Silas  remembering  their  experience  at  PhiHppi 
decided  not  to  face  the  crowd,  but  laid  plans  to  make 
their  departure  quietly. 

When  the  excited  people  stormed  the  house  where  the 
travelers  had  been  stopping,  they  had  to  content  them- 
selves with  arresting  Jason.  Just  as  Lydia,  in  whose 
house  the  converts  met  in  Philippi,  was  a  woman  of  some 
means,  so  Jason  appears  to  have  had  considerable  influ- 
ence. When  he  was  accused  of  harboring  revolutionists 
who  claimed  that  there  was  "another  king"  (Acts  17:7), 
he  was  released  as  soon  as  he  had  given  bonds.  Prob- 
ably Jason's  bond  was  taken  as  a  surety  that  Paul  and 
Silas  would  leave  the  city.  Not  wishing  to  give  Jason 
further  trouble  they  "immediately"  left  that  same 
"night." 

They  had  "planted"  the  seed.  It  seems  to  have 
sprouted  and  grown  more  rapidly  for  a  while  than  at 
Philippi.  It  was  only  a  few  months  later  that  Paul 
wrote  in  I  Thess.  2:1  that  his  ministry  had  "not  been 
found  vain."  In  2:14  of  the  same  letter  he  makes 
grateful  reference  to  their  endurance  of  persecutions, 
likening  these  to  the  sufferings  of  the  first  Christians  in 
Judea.  In  4 : 9,  10,  and  especially  in  i :  7,  8,  he  speaks  of 
their  progress  in  the  gospel  in  no  ordinary  terms:  "Ye 
became  an  example  to  all  that  believed  in  Macedonia 

and  in  Achaia In   every  place  your  faith  to 

God-ward  is  gone  forth."  In  Acts  20:4  we  read  that 
two  of  the  Thessalonians  traveled  with  Paul  in  his  com- 


"COME  OVER  INTO  MACEDONIA"  127 

pany  for  a  while,  and  in  Acts  27:2  that  one  of  these 
embarked  with  Paul  from  Palestine  on  the  voyage  to 
Rome. 

4.      AT   BEROEA 

Arrived  at  Beroea  Paul  found  the  Jews  more  hospi- 
table than  at  any  place  thus  far  visited.  They  received 
the  word  with  all  readiness.  Their  attitude  must  have 
been  a  joy  to  Paul.  If  he  was  endeavoring  to  travel  far 
enough  from  Jerusalem  to  find  Jews  who  were  free  from 
the  narrow  ceremonial  view,  he  was  not  to  be  dis- 
appointed. He  was  right  in  anticipating  that  the  more 
broad-minded,  cosmopolitan  Jews  of  the  empire  would 
welcome  his  message  and  see  its  truth.  Hereafter, 
except  for  the  visit  of  the  Jews  from  Thessalonica,  Paul 
experienced  no  serious  opposition  from  the  Dispersion. 
Even  at  Corinth  the  hostiHty  of  a  few  did  not  amount 
to  persecution  until  after  Paul  had  preached  there  a 
year  and  a  half,  and  then  resulted  in  a  signal  victory 
for  him. 

In  Macedonia  the  only  Jews  who  persecuted  Paul 
were  those  of  Thessalonica.  Encouraged  by  their  pre- 
vious success  they  now  came  to  Beroea,  where  they 
stirred  up  considerable  antagonism.  As  at  Thessa- 
lonica, so  here  their  accusations  were  probably  to  the 
effect  that  Paul  was  prophesying  the  coming  of  "another 
king"  and  another  kingdom.  Paul's  friends  fearing 
for  his  safety  escorted  him  out  of  the  city.  Silas  and 
Timothy  were  able  to  stay  and  encourage  the  new 
disciples. 

Paul's  stay  in  Beroea  probably  lasted  several  weeks. 
"Not  a  few"  joined  the  new  faith.     As  Luke  told  of 


128  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

women  converts  at  Philippi,  so  also  at  Thessalonica 
(17:4),  at  Beroea  (17: 12),  and  at  Athens  (17:34),  he  tells 
of  the  women  who  helped  in  the  gospel.  The  church 
at  Beroea,  planted  by  Paul  and  nurtured  for  a  time 
by  Silas  and  Timothy  and  other  helpers,  became  a 
prosperous  one.  For  it  contributed  some  years  later 
to  the  collection  which  Paul  took  up  for  the  Jerusalem 
community.  One  of  its  members  who  accompanied 
Paul  is  mentioned  in  Acts  20:4. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READING 

1.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  pp.  213-36. 

2.  Kent,  Work  and  Teachings  of  the  Apostles,  pp.  104-5;   1 12-19. 

3.  Gilbert,  Student's  Life  of  Paul,  pp.  107-25. 

4.  Conybeare  and  Howson,  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  chaps, 
viii,  ix. 

5.  Farrar,  Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  chaps,  xxv,  xxvi. 

6.  Bible  for  Home  and  School,  "Acts,"  pp.  154-67. 

7.  McGiffert,  A   History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age, 
pp.  234-56. 

8.  Bacon,  The  Story  of  St.  Paul,  pp.  147-63. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

AT  ATHENS  AND  CORINTH 

1.  At  Athens 

Acts  17:16-34;  IThess.  3:1,2 

2.  A  Year  and  a  Half  at  Corinth 

Acts  18:1-17;   I  Cor.  1:14-16;    2:1-5;   3-I.  2;    9:12, 
22;  II  Cor.  11:8,  9;  I  Thess.  3:6,  7;  Phil.  4:15 

3.  Two  Letters  to  the  Thessalonians 

Read  I  and  II  Thessalonians  entire 

4.  Brief  Visit  to  Ephesus 

Acts  18:18-22 

5.  The  Letter  to  the  Galatians 

Read  Galatians  entire 

I.      AT  ATHENS 

In  company  with  his  new  friends  from  Beroea  Paul 
voyaged  southward  past  Mount  Olympus  and  along  the 
shores  of  Greece  to  the  harbor  of  Athens.  There  his 
companions  left  him.  Though  his  words  in  I  Thess.  3 :  i 
may  have  been  written  with  reference  to  a  later  part 
of  his  stay,  they  apply  equally  well  to  the  first  days 
after  his  arrival.     He  was  "at  Athens  alone." 

There  was  much  in  this  city  that  might  have  made 
it  attractive  to  Paul  as  a  place  to  tarry  a  while  and  to 
work.  It  was  the  home  of  athletics,  art,  philosophy,  and 
religion.  In  the  great  stadium,  which  has  in  modern 
times  been  restored  to  its  ancient  splendor,  were  held  the 
famous  Greek  games.  Paul  was  not  a  little  interested 
in  athletics,  and  in  his  letters  often  made  effective  use 

129 


I30  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

of  references  to  boxing  and  wrestling,  to  training  for 
contests,  to  racing,  and  to  the  winning  of  prizes. 

Athens  was  the  most  artistically  built  city  in  the 
world.  Its  profusion  of  gracefully  carved  statues  and 
wonderfully  ornamented  temples  and  public  buildings 
made  it  almost  a  fairy  city.  The  Parthenon,  the  crown 
of  the  Acropolis,  was  a  marvel  of  architecture.  Even  in 
its  ruin  it  has  a  suggestion  of  beauty  which  can  scarcely 
be  paralleled. 

Athens  was  famous  also  as  a  center  of  philosophy. 
Socrates,  Plato,  and  Aristotle  had  given  a  great  impetus 
to  thinking  and  reasoning  on  the  meaning  of  life,  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  and  the  nature  of  God.  Many 
philosophical  sects  had  arisen.  The  Epicureans  (Acts 
17:18),  while  not  denying  the  possible  existence  of  gods, 
held  that  sense-perception  is  the  only  basis  of  knowledge 
and  that  the  gods  had  nothing  to  do  with  human  affairs. 
The  Stoics  (Acts  17:18),  on  the  other  hand,  believed 
that  every  man  possesses  within  him  a  spark  of  the 
divine  reason,  and  so  is  in  a  sense  akin  to  God. 

Partly  because  it  was  such  a  center  of  philosophy, 
Athens  was  also  a  gathering  place  for  many  different 
religions  and  religious  beliefs.  The  old  religion  of  Zeus 
was  losing  its  hold  upon  the  Greeks.  The  twelve  gods 
on  Mount  Olympus  were  no  longer  as  real  as  they  once 
had  been.  But  for  that  very  reason  other  religions 
found  a  place.  The  multiplicity  of  altars  and  worships 
must  have  been  bewildering  to  almost  any  visitor.  One 
of  the  largest  and  loftiest  temples  in  the  city  was  built 
by  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  king  of  Syria.  Antiochus  had 
lived  and  reigned  in  Antioch,  so  named  after  his  family, 
the  same  city  from  which  Paul  had  set  out  upon  this 


AT  ATHENS  AND  CORINTH  131 

missionary  tour.  Antioch  and  Athens  were  not  utterly 
unknown  to  each  other,  as  Paul  would  at  once  recognize 
when  he  visited  this  temple  close  by  the  Acropolis.  On 
the  contrary  there  were  many  points  of  contact,  and  not 
least  was  the  message  which  he  himself  was  bringing. 

Paul  determined  to  make  only  a  brief  stay.  The 
implication  of  Acts  17:16  is  that  he  was  not  expecting 
to  undertake  any  definite  program  of  estabhshing  here 
a  Christian  community.  He  was  "waiting"  for  Silas 
and  Timothy.  Perhaps  there  was  not  a  large  enough  or 
popular  enough  Jewish  synagogue  to  furnish  a  basis  of 
a  large  work.  Perhaps  he  had  reason  to  think  the  Jews 
here  would  be  especially  hostile.  More  probably,  how- 
ever, he  had  for  some  time  had  his  mind  set  upon 
Corinth  as  the  best  center  in  which  to  establish  the  gospel 
in  Greece.  In  Macedonia  also  he  had  passed  through 
important  cities,  such  as  Amphipolis,  without  preaching. 
He  waited  in  Athens  only  because  he  wished  to  have 
Silas  and  Timothy  with  him  when  he  went  to  Corinth 
that  they  might  all  begin  there  together. 

But  while  he  waited  his  spirit  was  provoked  within 
him  at  seeing  the  city  so  "full  of  idols."  He  determined 
to  use  the  little  time  he  had  in  planting  the  seed  of  truth 
here.  Following  his  usual  custom  he  began  in  the  syna- 
gogue with  the  Jews  and  with  that  outer  circle  of  "  devout 
persons."  He  reasoned  also  wherever  he  found  oppor- 
tunity with  those  whom  he  met  in  the  market-place. 
Here  some  of  the  philosophers,  both  Epicureans  and 
Stoics,  heard  bits  of  his  teaching  and  passed  the  word 
to  others.  Some  understood  Paul  to  speak  of  "Jesus" 
and  the  "Resurrection"  as  two  powers  or  divinities, 
much  as  they  had  been  accustomed  to  hear  of  Attis  and 


132  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Adonis,  or  Isis  and  Osiris.  The  word  "divinities"  of 
Acts  17:18  suggests  that  many  conceived  the  Spirit  of 
Jesus  to  be  an  indwelling  voice  similar  to  the  "divine 
spirit"  about  which  Socrates  had  talked.  Verse  18  uses 
the  same  word  which  Socrates  used. 

They  requested  that  Paul  give  a  public  presentation 
of  his  teaching  before  the  council  of  the  Areopagus — the 
same  body  which  had  in  that  earlier,  less  tolerant  day 
condemned  Socrates  to  drink  the  hemlock  for  introducing 
new  "divinities"  in  the  Greek  religion.  This  was  Paul's 
opportunity.  While  Luke's  account  of  Paul's  speech 
would  not  fill  two  minutes  in  speaking,  it  is  suggestive 
of  many  things  which  Paul  may  have  said.  The  altar 
"to  an  unknown  god"  was  not  an  unusual  object. 
When  success  had  attended  a  man  in  a  business  project 
or  in  time  of  personal  danger,  he  was  sometimes  doubt- 
ful which  of  the  gods  it  would  be  most  appropriate  to 
honor  in  his  expression  of  gratitude.  In  19 10,  during 
excavations  at  Pergamum  in  Asia  Minor,  a  stone  was 
discovered  bearing  an  inscription  which  should  probably 
be  read:  "To  the  Unknown  Gods."  Such  an  inscrip- 
tion furnished  Paul  an  excellent  starting-point. 

But  the  altar  served  only  to  introduce  Paul's  strong 
appeal  to  that  deeper  longing  and  searching  described 
in  chapter  i  of  this  volume.  Popular  Greek  philosophies 
and  religions  had  long  been  endeavoring  to  "feel  after" 
and  "find"  that  spiritual  Lord  who  dwelleth  not  in 
temples  made  with  hands.  The  quotation,  "For  we 
are  also  his  offspring,"  is  from  the  Greek  poet  Aratus, 
who  had  lived  near  Tarsus,  Paul's  birthplace.  While 
the  name  of  Christ  is  not  mentioned  in  the  record  of  the 
address,  the  omission  is  perhaps  of  little  significance  in 


AT  ATHENS  AND  CORINTH  133 

view  of  the  forceful  and  effective  closing  contrast  between 
the  former  times  of  ignorance  and  the  present  call  to 
repentance. 

Accustomed  to  the  teachings  of  the  religions  current 
in  Greek  cities,  Paul's  hearers  would  understand  his 
message  to  be  an  invitation  to  join  a  new  society  in 
which  the  power  of  a  divine  spirit  would  enable  all  par- 
ticipants to  rise  above  the  power  of  death  and  judgment 
into  a  life  of  mystic  communion  with  God  both  here  and 
hereafter.  Some  asked  to  have  him  speak  again  and 
explain  further,  but  probably  "devout"  Greeks  were  not 
many  in  Athens.  Paul  was  among  people  whose  moral 
and  religious  sense  had  become  accustomed  to  continually 
hearing  new  teachings.  Although  one  member  of  the 
Areopagus  and  some  others  became  converts,  Paul 
decided  that  further  efforts  here  would  not  be  the  best 
use  of  his  time.  He  accordingly  set  out  for  Corinth 
without  waiting  longer  for  Silas  and  Timothy. 

2.      A   YEAR   AND   A  HALF   AT   CORINTH 

Corinth  had  two  harbors,  one  opening  toward  the 
east  and  one  toward  the  west.  It  was  on  the  main  route 
from  Rome  and  Italy  to  Asia  Minor  and  Syria.  The 
canal,  three  and  a  half  miles  long,  through  the  rock 
of  the  isthmus,  begun  by  JuHus  Caesar,  continued  by 
Nero,  and  finished  in  1893,  must  have  been  in  Paul's 
day  one  of  the  city  improvements  much  discussed  and 
keenly  anticipated.  At  that  time  it  was  by  a  wooden 
railway  that  the  endless  cargoes  of  merchandise  were 
transshipped.  Such  a  strategic  location  for  a  com- 
mercial and  industrial  center  was  unparalleled  in  the 
Roman  world. 


134  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

In  146  B.C.,  because  of  its  leadership  of  an  Achaian 
league  against  Rome,  the  city  was  largely  destroyed, 
and  for  a  hundred  years  was  little  more  than  a  ruin. 
It  was  rebuilt  and  in  46  B.C.  made  a  Roman  colony  by 
Julius  Caesar.  Paul  found  it  in  a  time  of  great  industrial 
expansion.  It  was  full  of  people  from  every  nation. 
Its  gold  had  increased,  and  with  the  increase  of  wealth 
and  commerce  had  come  the  increase  of  vice  and  ma- 
terialism. 

A  considerable  part  of  the  temple  of  Apollo  survived 
the  sack  of  the  Romans ;  part  survived  also  the  devastat- 
ing earthquake  of  1858.  The  seven  remaining  columns 
measure  nearly  25  feet  high  and  nearly  6  feet  in  diameter 
at  the  base.  Paul  would  know  at  once  by  its  tapering 
columns  and  its  pecuHar  type  of  architecture  that  it  was 
an  ''ancient"  temple.  It  was  in  fact  six  hundred  years 
old  when  Paul  arrived.  This  holy  temple,  perhaps  in 
ruins,  may  conceivably  have  furnished  him  some  such 
starting-point  as  was  offered  in  Athens  by  the  altar  to 
the  unknown  god. 

One  other  outstanding  feature  of  Corinth  should  be 
noted.  Acro-Corinthus,  that  great  mass  of  rock  upon 
which  the  well-nigh  impregnable  citadel  of  Corinth  was 
located,  rises  sharply  to  a  height  of  1,800  feet.  The 
far-reaching  view  east  and  west  would  suggest  anew  to 
Paul  the  strategic  importance  of  so  planting  the  gospel 
here  that  it  should  never  be  uprooted.  For  from  Corinth 
and  its  continually  changing  population  the  message 
would  be  carried  by  sailors  and  travelers  both  westward 
and  eastward  to  every  port  of  the  Mediterranean.  It 
would  be  worth  while  to  stay  longer  here  than  at  any 
other  center  which  he  had  thus  far  visited. 


AT  ATHENS  AND  CORINTH  135 

For  a  prolonged  stay  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  JBind 
a  home  and  opportunity  to  work  at  his  trade.  He  was 
fortunate  in  finding  such  congenial  companions  as  Aquila, 
a  Jew  of  Pontus,  and  his  wife  Priscilla.  Suetonius  says 
that  Claudius  expelled  the  Jews  from  Rome  because 
they  were  stirred  up  by  a  certain  agitator  among  them 
named  "Chrestus."  This  was  possibly  a  popular  per- 
version of  the  name  Christ.  Expelled  from  Rome, 
Aquila  and  Priscilla  had  taken  up  their  stay  in  the  near- 
est large  city  outside  of  Italy.  During  Paul's  stay  with 
them  in  Corinth  they  would  be  of  great  help,  especially 
during  the  absence  of  Silas  and  Timothy.  Possibly 
they  brought  the  news  that  there  were  Christians  in 
Rome,  and  by  their  descriptions  of  that  imperial  city 
increased  Paul's  determination  to  go  there  when  the 
opportunity  proved  suitable. 

The  superscription  over  the  door  of  the  synagogue 
in  which  Paul  preached  has  probably  been  preserved. 
In  the  Museum  at  Corinth  is  today  the  stone  with 
the  writing,  "Synagogue  of  the  Hebrews."  The  plain 
character  of  the  block  and  the  rough  unprofessional 
style  of  the  lettering,  suggesting  that  the  Jews  were  not 
among  the  aristocrats  of  the  city,  are  an  instructive 
commentary  on  Paul's  words  in  I  Cor.  1:26,  "Not 
many  wise  after  the  flesh,  not  many  mighty,  not  many 
noble." 

The  arrival  of  Silas  and  Timothy  from  Macedonia 
brought  cheer  to  Paul's  soul  (I  Thess.  3:6,  7).  Paul  had 
not  only  missed  their  companionship  and  assistance, 
but  had  been  anxious  for  news  of  the  Macedonian 
churches.  Whether  Timothy  came  to  Athens  from 
Beroea  and  was  then  sent  back  to  Thessalonica,  as 


136  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

I  Thess.  3:1,2  suggests,  or  was  left  behind  at  Beroea 
with  instructions  to  go  to  Thessalonica,  and  thence  to 
join  Paul  at  Corinth,  as  Acts  suggests,  need  not  be 
decided.  In  any  case,  Silas  and  Timothy  arrived  at 
Corinth  and  Paul's  spirit  was  refreshed.  Quite  possibly 
while  Timothy  had  been  at  Thessalonica  Silas  had  been 
at  Philippi,  and  now  perhaps  brought  with  him  the  much- 
appreciated  gift  from  the  Philippians  to  Paul  mentioned 
in  II  Cor.  11:9  and  Phil.  4:15. 

After  the  arrival  of  Silas  and  Timothy,  Paul's  preach- 
ing took  on  increased  vigor.  The  narrower  Jews  were 
alarmed  and  "opposed  themselves."  Leaving  the  syna- 
gogue Paul  and  his  companions  found  warm  welcome 
again  among  that  outer  circle  of  "the  fearers  of  God." 
Titus  Justus,  who  offered  his  house  as  a  meeting-place, 
conveniently  located  next  door  to  the  synagogue,  is 
designated  as  one  of  this  outer  circle  by  the  phrase  in 
Acts  18:7,  "one  that  worshiped  God."  Even  the 
ruler  of  the  synagogue,  Crispus,  who  not  unnaturally 
would  be  a  broad-minded  man,  also  joined  the  new 
society.  Paul  mentions  him  in  I  Cor.  i :  14  as  one  of  the 
very  few  whom  he  personally  baptized. 

For  a  year  and  six  months  Paul's  work  among  the 
people  of  Corinth  prospered.  With  its  population  of 
about  two  hundred  thousand  freemen  and  perhaps  as 
many  slaves,  Corinth  was  full  of  all  the  evils  of  a  big 
city.  In  fact  the  moral  level  was  exceptionally  low  even 
for  that  day.  "To  live  like  a  Corinthian"  was,  from  the 
time  of  Aristophanes,  a  phrase  used  both  in  Greek  and 
Latin  to  express  immorality.  The  Greek  democratic 
spirit  went  to  excess  in  the  midst  of  the  ever-changing 
population.      From    the    west    came    the    gladiatorial 


AT  ATHENS  AND  CORINTH  137 

shows  and  the  evils  of  Roman  society;  from  the  east 
came  the  impure  oriental  worship  of  Astarte,  pervert- 
ing the  Greek  worship  of  Aphrodite.  Drunkenness 
and  reveling  were  common.  It  was  at  Corinth  that 
Paul  wrote  the  description  in  Rom.,  chap,  i,  of  the  con- 
dition of  men  who  know  not  God.  "Professing  them- 
selves to  be  wise,  they  became  fools  ....  being  filled 
with  all  unrighteousness,  wickedness,  covetousness 
....  full  of  envy,  murder,  strife,  deceit  ....  in- 
ventors of  evil  things  ....  covenant  breakers  .  .  .  ." 
The  contrast  between  the  actual  life  of  the  Corin- 
thians and  the  new  nobility  of  ideal  which  Paul  pre- 
sented was  heaven  high.  Under  his  leadership  some  of 
them  in  the  midst  of  their  days  of  shiploading  or  other 
toil  met  from  time  to  time  to  exhort  each  other  to  higher 
living.  Paul  told  them  that  their  bodies  were  temples 
wherein  the  spirit  of  God  dwells.  This  spirit  was  con- 
ceived by  many  in  a  crass  way,  and  many  felt  that  to  be 
carried  away  by  an  ecstasy  and  to  utter  strange  sounds 
after  the  manner  of  the  Greek  oracles  was  a  supreme 
manifestation  of  the  spirit.  Yet  under  the  untiring 
leadership  of  Paul  the  circle  of  Christians  must  have 
learned  much  and  lived  much  of  the  Christian  teaching. 
He  was  continually  pleading  with  them  to  die  with  Christ 
to  the  flesh  and  rise  with  him  into  a  new  life  of  spiritual 
communion  with  God.  The  great  poem  on  brotherly 
love  in  I  Cor.,  chap.  13,  is  a  suggestion  of  the  exalted 
goal  which  he  held  ever  before  them.  "Love  suffereth 
long  and  is  kind  ....  doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly, 
seeketh  not  its  own  ....  taketh  not  account  of  evil, 
rejoiceth  not  in  unrighteousness  ....  beareth  all 
things  ....  hopeth  all  things." 


138  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Paul  had  probably  not  intended  at  first  to  remain  a 
long  time  in  Corinth  (cf.  I  Thess.  3:11;  2:18),  but  the 
difficulty  and  responsibility  of  his  task  held  him.  He 
did  not  abate  his  efforts,  for  the  Lord  whom  he  had  seen 
on  the  road  to  Damascus  he  saw  again  "in  the  night  by 
a  vision"  and  heard  him  saying,  "Be  not  afraid,  for  I  am 
with  thee."  At  the  end  of  a  year  and  six  months,  evi- 
dently at  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  a  new  proconsul,  the 
Jews  thought  it  an  opportune  time  for  a  determined 
effort  to  stop  this  propaganda  which  was  becoming  such 
a  formidable  rival  of  the  synagogue. 

But  the  new  proconsul  was  brother  of  the  great  Stoic 
philosopher  Seneca.  The  situation  was  very  different 
from  that  which  Paul  had  encountered  in  Lystra.  He 
had  traveled  beyond  the  zone  of  the  tyranny  of  the  Jews. 
In  Corinth  Paul  won  a  clear  victory.  Gallio  refused  to 
listen  to  the  complaints  against  him.  When  they  per- 
sisted he  drove  them  from  the  court.  Then  he  showed 
his  utter  disdain  for  such  rehgious  jealousy  by  allowing 
the  crowd  to  seize  Sosthenes  the  arch-persecutor  and 
give  him  such  a  beating  as  in  earlier  days  Paul  had 
suffered  at  Philippi.  This  Sosthenes,  ruler  of  the  syna- 
gogue, was  probably  just  such  a  narrow-minded  man  as 
would  be  chosen  to  take  the  place  of  the  converted 
Crispus,  the  ruler  of  the  synagogue,  whom  Paul  had 
personally  baptized  (I  Cor.  i :  14). 

The  dating  of  the  proconsulship  of  Gallio  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  chapters  of  modern  archaeology.  Thus 
far  in  the  journeys  of  Paul  there  has  been  no  statement 
that  would  enable  us  to  date  an  event  of  Paul's  life  in 
terms  of  Roman  history.     Even  in  regard  to  the  pro- 


AT  ATHENS  AND  CORINTH  139 

consulship  of  Gallio,  Wendt  made  the  statement  as 
late  as  1899  in  the  revised  Meyer  Commentary  that  we 
have  no  evidence  outside  the  Book  of  Acts  that  Gallio 
was  proconsul.  In  1908  Deissmann  in  his  Light  from  the 
Ancient  East  wrote  that  as  yet  no  inscription  had  been 
found  for  dating  Gallio 's  term  of  office.  But  in  April, 
1908,  in  the  Report  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund 
appeared  a  description  of  four  broken  pieces  of  stone 
found  at  Delphi  in  Greece.  These  four  pieces,  one  of 
which  was  published  as  early  as  1895,  when  brought 
together,  have  been  found  to  be  parts  of  an  imperial 
letter  of  the  time  of  Claudius.  On  one  piece  appears  a 
part  of  the  name  and  titles  of  Claudius.  On  a  second 
fragment  occurs  the  date  within  the  reign  of  Claudius, 
his  twenty-sixth  acclamation  as  emperor.  A  third  frag- 
ment contains  the  name  of  Gallio.  The  fourth  fragment 
contains  a  part  of  the  title  proconsul. 

From  the  assembled  inscription  read  in  the  light  of 
related  facts  of  Roman  history  it  appears  that  Gallio 
was  proconsul  from  the  summer  of  51  to  the  summer  of 
52.  Reckoning  back  a  year  and  six  months  from  the 
accession  of  Gallio  we  reach  the  beginning  of  the 
year  50  as  the  date  of  Paul's  arrival  in  Corinth.  Inci- 
dentally this  accords  with  the  statement  of  Orosius  vii. 
6,  15,  quoting  Josephus,  that  Claudius  expelled  the  Jews 
from  Rome  in  his  ninth  year,  that  is  in  the  year  49. 
Aquila  and  Priscilla  had  come  only  "lately"  from  Rome, 
as  Luke  writes  in  Acts  18: 2.  (For  further  discussion  of 
the  inscription  and  date  see  Deissmann,  St.  Paul,  Ap- 
pendix II;  also  American  Journal  of  Theology,  XXI 
[1917],  299,  last  paragraph.) 


I40  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

3.      TWO   LETTERS   TO   THE   THESSALONIANS 

When  Timothy  came  to  Corinth  from  Thessalonica 
(cf.  p.  135)  he  brought  news  from  the  circle  of  disciples 
Paul  had  so  abruptly  left  in  Thessalonica,  which  in  one 
respect  was  unexpected.  Paul  had  told  the  Thessa- 
lonians  that  their  new  life  in  Christ  and  their  possession 
of  the  Spirit  made  them  victors  over  death.  He  had 
assured  them  of  eternal  life  and  of  a  future  Kingdom  of 
love  and  brotherhood  soon  to  be  established  upon  the 
earth.  They  had  not  unnaturally  understood  Paul  to 
say  that  they  would  all  live  to  share  in  that  future 
Kingdom.  They  were  now  in  great  distress  over  the 
fact  that  some  of  their  number  had  died  and  apparently 
would  not  share  the  joy  of  the  coming  commonwealth. 
They  were  perhaps  asking  dubiously  whether  the  com- 
ing of  Jesus  might  not  be  so  long  postponed  that  none  of 
them  would  share  in  its  glory. 

Not  wishing  to  interrupt  his  strenuous  activity  in 
Corinth,  Paul  sat  down  and  wrote  them  a  letter.  Or, 
to  be  more  accurate,  he  paced  the  floor  in  his  intensity 
of  feeling  as  he  dictated  a  letter.  For  Paul  was  a 
nervous  man  and  usually  had  his  letters  written  in  the 
ordinary  way  by  a  professional  writer.  This  was  per- 
haps Paul's  first  letter  of  length  to  a  Greek  church,  and 
he  shows  by  his  superlative  language  how  deeply  the 
success  of  the  gospel  in  a  Greek  city  had  impressed  him. 
It  was  no  mere  formal  custom  which  made  him  express 
his  thankfulness  at  the  beginning  of  every  letter  except 
Galatians.  He  probably  experienced  a  genuine  sense  of 
surprise  and  gratification  at  the  welcome  which  was 
accorded  to  his  gospel. 


AT  ATHENS  AND  CORINTH  141 

After  his  salutation  and  expression  of  gratitude 
(1:1-10)  he  goes  on  to  tell  them  how  completely  and 
personally  he  devoted  himself  to  their  welfare  (2:1-12) 
and  again  refers  gratefully  to  their  response  (2:13-16). 
He  assures  them  of  his  longing  to  visit  them  (2:17-20) 
and  of  the  joy  which  Timothy's  news  afforded  him 
(3:1-10).  He  ends  this  part  of  his  letter  with  a  bene- 
diction (3:11-13).  In  the  second  half  of  the  letter  he 
gives  them  exhortations  to  nobler  and  cleaner  living 
(4:1-12),  and  especially  to  faith  in  the  resurrection  of 
those  who  have  fallen  asleep  (4:13-18)  and  to  watch- 
fulness and  readiness  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord  (5:1-11). 
After  further  general  Christian  admonition  (5:12-22)  he 
closes  with  a  benediction  and  a  request  that  the  letter 
be  read  to  all  the  brethren  (5:23-28). 

Although  he  told  them  in  his  polite  way,  ''Ye  have 
no  need  that  one  write  unto  you"  (4:9),  his  letter  must 
have  been  very  welcome  to  the  church.  His  words  of 
comfort  concerning  those  who  were  "fallen  asleep"  are 
in  striking  contrast  to  that  papyrus  letter  quoted  in 
chapter  i  of  this  volume:  "I  wept  over  the  death  of  your 
son  as  much  as  I  did  when  my  own  child  passed  away 
....  against  such  things  one  can  do  nothing."  While 
such  dispiriting  letters  were  being  written  from  friend 
to  friend  in  Thessalonica,  Paul  was  picturing  the  glorious 
hope  of  the  resurrection  and  pleading  with  his  friends, 
"Sorrow  not  even  as  the  rest  who  have  no  hope." 

The  second  letter  was  written  two  or  three  months 
after  the  first.  Both  were  probably  written  within  the 
year  50.  The  effect  of  the  first  letter  had  been  more  than 
Paul  anticipated.  The  situation  had  almost  reversed 
itself.     Some  at  least  of  the  Thessalonians  had  gone  to 


142  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

the  other  extreme.  They  had  decided  that,  as  the  King- 
dom was  immediately  impending,  therefore  there  was  no 
need  to  "work  at  all"  or  earn  a  living.  They  could  get 
something  to  eat  at  the  Christian  suppers,  and  in  general 
live  from  the  generosity  of  their  brothers  (II  Thess. 

3:11)- 

In  this  second  letter  he  expresses  thanks  for  their 
growth  in  faith  and  love  in  the  midst  of  persecution 
(1:1-12).  Then  he  turns  at  once  to  the  chief  occasion  of 
his  writing.  They  should  not  think  that  "the  day  of  the 
Lord  is  now  present,"  for  some  time  must  first  elapse 
(2:1-12).  After  exhorting  them  to  stand  fast  (2 :  13-17) 
and  uttering  a  few  words  of  prayer  for  them  (3 : 1-5)  he 
tells  them  not  to  be  carried  away  into  disorderly  con- 
duct, but  to  keep  quietly  on  with  their  work  (3:6-15). 
In  concluding  he  calls  attention  to  his  personal  greeting 
and  benediction  in  his  own  handwriting  (3:16-18). 

The  genuineness  of  this  second  letter  has  sometimes 
been  called  in  question.  In  the  first  letter  there  is  an 
emphasis  upon  the  nearness  of  the  Second  Coming 
(4:15-17;  5:2),  while  in  the  second  the  emphasis  is 
upon  the  fact  that  a  time  must  intervene  before  the 
coming  (2:2,  3).  It  is  conceivable  that  someone  after 
Paul's  death,  feehng  that  Paul  was  mistaken  concerning 
the  nearness  of  the  coming,  wished  to  save  Paul's  reputa- 
tion or  to  correct  a  popular  opinion.  But  it  is  just  as 
likely  that  Paul  would  wish  to  correct  a  false  opinion  or 
a  wrong  attitude  as  that  some  later  writer  would  do  so. 
This  and  other  arguments  advanced  are  not  sufficient 
to  prove  that  Paul  did  not  write  the  letter. 

Each  of  these  letters  on  reaching  Thessalonica  was 
"read  unto  all  the  brethren,"  as  Paul   requested   in 


AT  ATHENS  AND  CORINTH  143 

I  Thess.  5:26.  After  the  reading  it  was  handed  over 
to  the  treasurer  or  other  officer  of  the  church  who  for 
safe-keeping  put  it  away  with  his  accounts  and  receipts, 
until  one  day,  after  Paul's  death,  some  one  going  around 
to  the  churches  to  collect  the  writings  of  Paul  found  the 
letters  and  made  a  copy  of  them. 

4.      BRIEF   VISIT  TO   EPHESUS 

If,  as  stated  above,  the  Jewish  demonstration  at 
Corinth  took  place  soon  after  Gallio  became  proconsul 
in  the  summer  of  51  a. d.,  it  was  probably  in  the  early 
fall  of  51  that  Paul  left  Corinth  to  return  to  the  East. 
The  Httle  visit  to  Ephesus  is  of  significance  in  the  hght 
of  his  subsequent  return  to  the  city  for  a  stay  of  three 
years.  As  he  stopped  on  his  way  eastward  he  found  a 
warm  welcome  and  received  a  request  to  stay  longer. 

Picturing  to  himself  the  possibilities  of  the  gospel  in 
this  greatest  of  the  cities  which  he  had  yet  entered,  he 
hastened  on  his  homeward  journey.  The  two  friends 
Aquila  and  Priscilla  with  whom  he  had  lived  so  long  in 
Corinth  and  who  had  accompanied  him  to  Ephesus 
he  was  now  able  to  leave  in  charge  when  he  departed. 
Luke  devotes  only  two  verses  of  his  narrative  to  Paul's 
journey  eastward  and  back  again.  Landing  at  Caesarea, 
the  Roman  port  of  Jerusalem,  Paul  went  up  to  salute 
the  mother-church.  Perhaps  he  found  time  for  a  visit 
at  his  sister's  home  and  for  a  brief  recital  of  his  adventures 
to  his  Jerusalem  friends. 

Arrived  again  at  Antioch  he  had  completed  on  this 
second  missionary  journey  considerably  more  than 
two  thousand  miles.  Having  left  Antioch  in  the  spring 
of  49,  and  reaching  Antioch  again  in  the  winter  at  the 


144  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

end  of  51  or  the  beginning  of  52,  he  had  spent  nearly 
three  years  on  the  journey.  Three  important  and 
strategic  Christian  centers  he  had  founded,  at  Philippi, 
at  Thessalonica,  and  at  Corinth. 

5.   THE  LETTER  TO  THE  GALATIANS 

As  explained  above  in  chapter  vii  the  recipients  of 
the  letter  "to  the  Galatians"  were  probably  the  converts 
of  the  churches  founded  on  the  first  missionary  journey 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  Roman  province  of  Galatia. 
These  churches  of  Derbe,  Lystra,  Iconium,  and  Pisidian 
Antioch  he  visited  a  second  time  on  his  second  journey. 
In  the  letter  he  speaks  of  his  preaching  on  the  "former" 
occasion  (4 :  13)  in  such  way  as  to  indicate  that  he  had 
visited  them  twice  and  only  twice.  Both  visits  he  rather 
implies  were  somewhat  distant  in  time.  The  letter  was . 
therefore  written  perhaps  shortly  before  his  third  visit, 
and  on  this  supposition  was  written  probably  at  Antioch 
and  in  the  year  52. 

The  occasion  of  the  letter  was  a  crisis  which  had 
arisen  in  the  churches  over  the  question  of  circumcision. 
It  was  perhaps  the  greatest  crisis  which  Paul  ever  faced 
among  his  churches.  The  Judaizers,  defeated  at  Jerusa- 
lem, were  at  work  in  Galatia.  With  deadly  effective- 
ness they  were  using  all  those  arguments  noted  in 
chapter  vi  in  connection  with  the  Jerusalem  conference. 

The  Galatian  converts  had  been  living  the  gospel  of 
freedom  as  Paul  had  preached  it  to  them.  "Ye  were 
running  well,"  he  tells  them  (5:7).  But  it  was  appar- 
ently easy  to  lose  faith  in  an  absent  leader.  The 
Judaizers  made  the  most  of  the  situation.  They  saw 
what  a  success  the  new  faith  was.     They  were  deter- 


AT  ATHENS  AND  CORINTH  145 

mined  to  annex  it  to  the  synagogue  for  the  glorification 
of  Judaism.  Moreover,  they  regarded  a  gospel  of 
liberty  and  freedom  as  not  merely  un- Jewish  but  as  a 
positive  encouragement  to  a  lower  moral  standard. 

Paul  heard  that  his  new  converts,  alarmed  by  the 
arguments  of  the  Judaizers,  were  already  "removing" 
from  the  gospel  which  he  had  preached.  He  realized 
the  critical  character  of  the  situation.  In  his  indignation 
that  the  Judaizers  should  thus  even  after  the  Jerusalem 
conference  be  undermining  his  work,  he  wrote  a  letter 
which  for  personal  sharpness  of  statement  and  vigorous 
effectiveness  is  hardly  excelled  either  among  Paul's 
letters  or  the  letters  of  any  other  man.  Although  some 
of  its  statements  were  so  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  readers 
of  Galatia  that  we  in  America  do  not  catch  their  force, 
no  one  can  study  the  epistle  without  feeling  the  power 
of  the  personality  behind  it.  It  is  first-hand  testimony 
to  a  great  conflict,  a  voice  out  of  the  midst  of  battle. 

The  first  two  chapters  are  a  rare  bit  of  autobiography. 
Paul  had  no  desire  to  write  about  himself.  But  the 
Judaizers  had  attacked  his  apostleship.  They  reasoned 
with  the  Galatians  that  the  twelve  apostles  were  the 
ones  who  had  been  with  Jesus  and  who  knew  his  gospel. 
Anything  which  Paul  preached  he  must  have  received 
from  them.  And  where  he  differed  from  them  he  had 
no  real  authority  for  his  preaching.  Paul's  answer  was 
to  narrate  the  salient  facts  of  his  career  so  far  as  they 
concerned  the  source  of  his  gospel.  The  circumstances 
preceding  and  surrounding  his  conversion  (Gal.,  chap,  i), 
his  independent  position  at  the  Jerusalem  conference 
(2:1-10),  his  subsequent  rebuke  of  Peter  (2:11-21),  all 
showed  that  his  gospel  was  from  Christ  independently 


146  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

received  and  not  from  men.  The  apostles  themselves 
had  recognized  tliis  in  giving  him  the  right  hand  of 
fellowship. 

In  chapters  3  and  4  he  turns  from  the  personal  side 
to  arguments  respecting  his  gospel  itself.  The  Judaizers 
had  evidently  been  arguing  from  Gen.  17:7  and  other 
passages  that  God's  promises  of  future  blessings  were 
explicitly  limited  to  Abraham  and  his  descendants. 
Paul's  answer  is  "Abraham  believed  God."  That  was 
his  righteousness,  as  the  Jewish  Scriptures  plainly  state. 
Those  who  maintain  an  attitude  of  faith  toward  God 
such  as  Abraham  had  are  the  true  "sons  of  Abraham," 
not  those  who  accept  circumcision.  The  Book  of  Genesis 
itself  has  the  distinct  statement:  "In  thee  shall  all  the 
nations  be  blessed."  The  promises  were  explicitly 
meant  for  all  the  world  (3 : 1-9) .  Moreover,  on  the  basis 
of  law  every  man  is  cursed  who  is  not  legally  perfect; 
hence  the  Scripture  itself  says  "the  righteous  shall  live 
by  faith"  (3:10-14).  The  covenant  with  Abraham 
was  not  on  the  basis  of  law,  because  the  law  was  not  in 
existence  till  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  after  Abra- 
ham (3: 15-22),  nor  was  the  covenant  displaced  by  law. 

The  Judaizers  must  have  felt  the  sting  of  Paul's 
irony  if  they  read  or  heard  his  next  statement  that  the 
law  was  only  for  schoolboys,  a  sort  of  "guardian"  or 
"tutor"  to  lead  along  those  who  are  undeveloped.  Cir- 
cumcision was  after  all  not  really  a  very  adult  way  of 
exhibiting  one's  religion.  Now  that  faith  has  come  "we 
are  no  longer  under  a  tutor."  We  have  become  of  age, 
no  longer  "children,"  but  "sons"  of  God  (3:23 — 4:11). 
He  appeals  to  the  Galatians  in  the  name  of  their  former 
loyalty  not  to  fall  victims  to  these  crafty  teachers. 
Thinking,  perhaps,  of  that  incident  in  Lystra  when  he 


AT  ATHENS  AND  CORINTH  147 

was  hailed  as  Mercury,  the  messenger  of  the  gods,  he 
reminds  them  in  touching  words  that  they  received  him 
as  "an  angel  of  God"  (4:12-20).  He  closes  this  part 
of  his  letter  with  a  last  argument  based  on  an  allegorical 
interpretation  of  the  story  of  Sarah  and  Hagar  (4 : 2 1-3 1) . 

In  the  last  two  chapters  he  exhorts  them  to  stand  fast 
in  their  freedom  (5:1-12),  to  avoid  turning  liberty  into 
license,  to  seek  the  fruits  of  the  spirit,  love,  joy,  faith- 
fulness, temperance  (5:13-26),  to  be  not  weary  in  well- 
doing (6:  i-io).  He  adds  a  whole  paragraph  in  his  own 
big  handwriting  (6:11-18)  warning  against  the  Judaizers 
and  closing  with  a  reference  to  the  marks  of  Jesus  upon 
his  body,  meaning  perhaps  the  scars  received  at  his 
stoning  in  Lystra. 

Galatians  is  the  Christian  charter  of  freedom.  It 
marks  a  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  religion.  Paul  took 
a  new  and  courageous  stand  in  saying  to  these  very 
human  and  fallible  Christians  of  Lystra  and  of  other 
cities  that  liberty  is  one  of  the  greatest  words  in  religion, 
that  obedience  to  written  law  is  quite  a  lower  stage,  that 
he  who  lives  in  Christ  is  above  formal  codes  of  command 
and  prohibition.  He  was  speaking  out  of  his  own  deep 
experience  and  conviction.  It  was  a  somewhat  similar, 
though  quite  distinct,  truth  which  Luther  had  in  mind 
when  he  said  in  his  tract  on  Christian  liberty:  "Good 
works  do  not  make  a  good  man,  but  a  good  man  does 
good  works."  First  the  spirit  was  Paul's  great  teaching, 
then  the  fruits  of  the  spirit. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READING 

1.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  pp.  237-61. 

2.  Kent,  Work  and  Teachings  of  the  Apostles,  pp.  125-32;   135- 
42;  106-9. 


148  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

3.  Gilbert,  Student's  Life  of  Paul,  pp.  125-41. 

4.  Conybeare  and  Howson,  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  chaps, 
x-xiii. 

5.  Farrar,  Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  chaps,  xxvii,  xxviii. 

6.  Bible  for  Home  and  School,  "Acts,"  pp.  167-76. 

7.  Jones,  St.  Paul  the  Orator,  pp.  80-106. 

8.  McGiffert,  A  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age, 
pp.  256-73;  also  pp.  217-30. 

9.  Bacon,  Story  of  St.  Paul,  pp.  163-73;  236-65. 

ON  THESSALONIAN  LETTERS  AND   GALATIANS 

10.  Burton,  Handbook  of  the  Life  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  pp.  45-57. 

11.  Goodspeed,  Story  of  the  New  Testament,  pp.  1-13. 

12.  Mofifatt,  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament,  pp.  64-107. 


CHAPTER  IX 
AT  EPHESUS 

1.  Arrival  at  Ephesus 

Acts  18:23;   ig:i 

2.  Disciples  of  John  the  Baptist 

Acts  18:24 — 19:7 

3.  Three  Years  of  Activity 

Acts  19:8-20,  26;   20:18-35;  I  Cor.  4:11-13 

4.  Departure  from  Ephesus 

Acts  19:21 — 20:1;  I  Cor.  15:32;  IlCor.  1:8,  9 

I.      ARRIVAL   AT  EPHESUS 

Probably  not  long  after  sending  off  the  letter  to  the 
Galatians  Paul  departed  from  Antioch  on  a  third  mis- 
sionary journey.  Undoubtedly  he  stopped  for  a  night 
at  his  home  in  Tarsus.  Then  he  hastened  on  through 
the  Galatian  country,  including  also  the  Phrygian  cities 
of  Iconium  and  Antioch  (18 :  23).^  This  time  he  was  not 
forbidden  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  speak  the  word  in  Asia, 
but  went  directly  to  the  heart  of  the  life  of  that  province. 

The  city  of  Ephesus  was  the  largest,  richest,  and  most 
influential  city  in  which  Paul  founded  a  church.  His 
success  here  was  the  climax  of  his  labors.  The  province 
of  Asia,  of  which  Ephesus  was  the  capital,  was  one  of 
the  wealthiest  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Six  centuries 
before  Paul's  time  Croesus  had  accumulated  his  vast 
treasures  at  Sardis.  Smyrna  and  Miletus  were  impor- 
tant centers  of  culture  and  commerce. 

'  Tr)v  Ta\aTiKT]v  X'^pai'  Kal  ^pvylav. 
149 


I50  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Ephesus  owed  its  special  pre-eminence  in  no  small 
measure  to  its  natural  advantages  of  location.  The 
Maeander  River  in  its  "meandering"  course  toward  the 
sea  makes  a  sharp  turn  a  few  miles  before  reaching 
the  shore  and  flows  southward  for  many  miles  parallel 
to  the  coast.  The  result  was  that  the  rich  commerce 
from  the  interior  and  from  the  east  following  down  the 
valley  of  the  Maeander  found  it  easier  to  cross  a  small 
ridge  to  Ephesus  on  the  coast  than  to  turn  south  along 
the  river  to  its  mouth  at  Miletus.  The  modern  railroad 
in  like  manner  built  along  the  Maeander  has  its  termi- 
nal at  Ephesus.  Since  Ephesus  was  located  also  on  a 
good-sized  river  of  its  own,  the  Cayster,  it  thus  had  a 
double  advantage. 

The  city  was,  like  Athens,  artistically  laid  out,  with 
finely  paved  streets  and  large  public  buildings.  The 
theater,  one  of  the  largest  in  Asia  Minor  and  today  one 
of  the  best  preserved,  was  centrally  located.  The  seats 
were  arranged  in  rows  upon  the  side  of  a  small  hill  partly 
hollowed  out.  This  theater,  or  amphitheater,  faced  west 
and  commanded  a  good  view  of  the  harbor  a  mile  away. 
In  a  straight  line  from  the  theater  to  the  harbor  ran  the 
main  street,  beautifully  colonnaded  on  both  sides.  Along 
this  street  were  the  lecture  halls,  libraries,  and  minor 
temples,  so  massively  built  that  their  ruins  still  line 
both  sides  of  the  old  pavement.  On  this  street  was 
located  in  all  probabihty  the  school  of  Tyrannus,  which 
Paul  secured  for  his  use. 

In  front  of  the  theater  was  another  principal 
thoroughfare  running  north  and  south.  It  was  at  the 
junction  of  the  two  streets  at  the  market-place  in  front 
of  the  theater  that  the  multitude  gathered  for  the  demon- 


AT  EPHESUS  151 

stration  against  Paul.  On  this  latter  street  somewhat 
to  the  north  was  the  Greek  stadium,  measuring  an  eighth 
of  a  mile  from  end  to  end.  Here  six  thousand  people 
could  gather  to  watch  some  prisoner  light  with  wild 
beasts  in  the  arena,  as  Paul,  perhaps  metaphorically, 
says  he  was  compelled  to  fight  at  Ephesus  (I  Cor.  15:32). 

The  Temple  of  Diana  was  located  at  a  distance  from 
the  business  center  of  the  city.  The  place  had  been 
sacred  from  very  early  times.  Its  oracle  was  almost  as 
famous  as  that  of  Delphi  in  Greece.  The  temple  built 
upon  this  ancient  and  holy  spot  was  so  marvelous  in  its 
splendor  and  elaborateness  that  it  was  numbered  as  one 
of  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world.  The  edifice  was 
in  Paul's  day  at  least  five  centuries  old.  It  had  been 
built  by  the  Greeks  and  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  the 
goddess  Artemis,  afterward  identified  with  the  Roman 
Diana.  The  floor  of  the  temple,  which  was  approached 
by  steps  on  each  side,  measured  about  350  feet  in  length 
by  150  feet  in  breadth.  The  columns  of  the  temple 
towered  60  feet  above  this  platform  and  were  visible  far 
out  to  sea. 

Many  legends  had  gathered  around  this  ancient 
center  of  Greek  worship.  The  early  priestesses  of  the 
temple  were  perhaps  connected  with  the  rise  of  some  of 
the  stories  of  the  Amazon  women  in  Greek  mythology. 
The  image  of  the  goddess  of  the  temple  was  in  Paul's 
day  said  to  have  fallen  directly  out  of  heaven  (Acts 
19:35).  According  to  this  legend  the  image  was  the 
only  perfect  likeness  of  the  goddess.  Hence  it  was  that 
the  thousands  of  pilgrims  who  came  to  worship,  or  to 
consult  the  oracle,  took  home  with  them  a  copy  of  the 
sacred  statue.     The  poorest  pilgrims  bought  copies  of 


152  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

terra  cotta,  the  more  prosperous  ones  copies  of  marble, 
while  the  wealthy  tourists  could  afford  silver  ones. 
Demetrius  catered  to  the  wealthy  class. 

Because  the  temple  was  held  so  sacred  it  had  many 
uses  besides  that  of  worship.  Those  who  had  money 
or  valuables  considered  it  the  safest  place  in  Ephesus, 
and  deposited  their  treasures  there.  The  temple  had 
become  in  Paul's  day  the  safety-deposit  vault  of  Ephesus. 
Moreover,  since  its  precincts  were  held  inviolable,  many 
fugitives  of  the  empire,  both  of  the  nobility  and  of  the 
people,  found  here  a  place  of  refuge.  Its  fame  in  this 
respect  spread  far  and  wide.  No  doubt  the  slave 
Onesimus,  who  ran  away  from  his  master  Philemon  in 
Colossae  and  was  afterward  converted  and  sent  back  by 
Paul,  found  refuge  for  a  while  here.  The  life  of  Ephesus 
was  affected  so  widely  through  the  various  channels  of 
temple  activity — pilgrims,  tourists,  refugees,  priests, 
singers,  servants,  guides,  image-makers,  bankers — that 
Ephesus  was  called  the  "keeper"  of  the  temple  of  the 
heaven-sent  image  (Acts  19:35). 

2.      DISCIPLES   OF   JOHN   THE   BAPTIST 

When  Paul  arrived  at  Ephesus  his  first  activity, 
Luke  tells  us,  was  among  the  followers  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist. This  sect,  which  Paul  may  have  encountered  often 
before  in  his  travels,  was  perhaps  particularly  strong 
here.  Its  members  proclaimed  John  as  founder  of  their 
faith.  They  seem  to  have  given  a  prominent  place  to 
Jesus  and  some  of  his  teachings.  Perhaps  they  spoke 
of  him  as  John's  chief  disciple  and  interpreter.  But 
they  regarded  the  Baptist  as  the  greater,  and  around  his 
preaching  they  built  up  their  religion. 


AT  EPHESUS  153 

Our  reports  of  John's  preaching  indicate  that  he 
announced  a  speedily  coming  judgment  which  was  to  fall 
upon  the  Jews.  While  his  principal  warning  was  to  Jews, 
he  may  by  inference  have  included  the  other  nations  also 
in  his  picture  of  the  judgment.  In  view  of  this  coming 
judgment  John  urged  repentance,  for  repentance  would 
save  from  the  punishment  which  would  come  upon  the 
unrepentant.  After  repentance  he  enjoined  purity  of 
moral  life. 

This  may  well  have  been  the  message  of  his  followers, 
and  so  far  as  our  information  goes  they  may  have  ad- 
dressed this  message  chiefly  or  even  exclusively  to  Jews. 
It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  acceptance  of  this  mes- 
sage of  coming  judgment  would  not  be  accompanied  by 
those  enthusiastic  and  ecstatic  experiences  which  among 
Christian  believers  were  known  as  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit. 
Since  these  followers  of  John  did  not  accept  the  mes- 
siahship  of  Jesus,  they  did  not  of  course  look  for  the  return 
of  Jesus  from  heaven  as  the  Christ.  The  repeated 
insistence  in  the  Gospel  of  John  that  the  Baptist  was 
not  the  Christ  is  perhaps  an  evidence  that  John  was 
regarded  as  the  Christ  by  his  followers.  But  there  is 
no  reason  to  think  that  they  were  apocalyptists  or  looked 
for  the  coming  of  John  from  heaven.  They  had  no 
expectation  of  a  second  coming  either  of  Jesus  or  of  John. 
Apparently  the  movement  was  a  prophetic  and  ethical 
one,  quite  without  the  enthusiasm  and  without  the  vivid 
apocalyptic  hope  of  the  Christian  movement. 

This  John-the-Baptist  propaganda  was  one  of  the 
closest  rivals  of  early  Christianity.  Each  recognized 
the  prophet  of  the  other,  but  each  claimed  primacy  for 
its  own  leader.     The  Gospel  of  John,  written  long  after 


154  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Paul's  death,  never  refers  to  the  Baptist  without  empha- 
sizing that  he  was  not  the  Christ,  that  he  was  only  a 
prophet,  inferior  to  Jesus,  but  bearing  witness  to  the 
superiority  of  Jesus.  The  evidence  of  the  Acts  account, 
the  fuller  evidence  of  the  Gospel  of  John,  and  the  later 
evidence  of  other  literature  combine  to  indicate  that 
Johannism  existed  side  by  side  with  Christianity  from 
the  very  beginning  and  for  several  centuries  at  least. 

Apollos  was  one  of  the  chief  missionaries  of  the  sect 
at  Ephesus.  He  was  a  well-educated  man  from  the 
great  center  of  learning,  Alexandria.  He  was  an  elo- 
quent speaker  and  able  to  use  the  Jewish  Scriptures  in 
argument  with  powerful  effect.  Priscilla  and  Aquila — • 
her  name  often  precedes  that  of  her  husband,  as  though 
she  were  somewhat  of  a  leader — had  in  Paul's  absence 
become  acquainted  with  Apollos  and  converted  him  to 
the  Christian  point  of  view. 

As  though  to  complete  the  work  of  his  two  friends, 
Paul  upon  his  arrival  in  Ephesus  went  among  the  dis- 
ciples of  John  to  win  as  many  of  them  as  possible. 
Probably  in  a  conciliatory  way  he  told  them  that  a 
baptism  of  repentance  was  negatively  good,  but  that 
they  lacked  the  positive  side  of  baptism  into  the  name 
of  Jesus  and  of  possession  by  the  Spirit.  He  brought 
over  twelve  men  to  the  Christian  circle  of  believers. 
But  the  sect  remained,  as  stated  above,  a  strong  and 
active  body. 

Thus  Paul  had  to  work  in  Ephesus  as  elsewhere  in 
competition  with  many  rivals.  The  old  mythology  and 
idolatry  were  strongly  intrenched.  The  Temple  of  Diana 
was  one  of  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world.  To  those 
whose  belief  in  m3rthology  had  waned  Judaism  offered 


AT  EPHESUS  1 55 

a  more  spiritual  and  truly  ethical  worship.  If  Judaism 
lacked  a  certain  mystical  element  which  the  philo- 
sophically minded  craved,  there  were  the  mystery- 
religions,  promising  not  only  present  communion  with 
deity  but  future  immortality.  In  especially  close  com- 
petition with  Paul's  work  were  the  two  reformed  Jewish 
sects,  legalistic  Christianity,  which  was  a  slightly 
Christianized  Pharisaism,  and  the  sect  described  above 
which  followed  the  preaching  of  John. 

3.      THREE   YEARS   OF   ACTIVITY 

Ephesus  was  Paul's  greatest  opportunity  and  Paul's 
greatest  achievement.  An  incidental  reference  in  Acts 
20 : 3 1  states  that  the  length  of  his  stay  was  "  three  years," 
but  this  may  mean  simply  that  he  was  there  more  than 
two  years.  This  was  his  longest  stop  of  which  we  have 
any  record.  After  his  first  work  among  the  disciples 
of  John  the  Baptist  he  devoted  three  months  to  the 
Jewish  synagogue,  then  for  two  years  he  reasoned  daily 
in  the  school  of  Tyrannus. 

He  made  Ephesus  a  center  for  spreading  the  gospel 
throughout  all  the  province  of  Asia,  as  stated  in  Acts 
19:10.  He  has  immortalized  the  name  of  his  first  convert 
in  Asia  by  mentioning  him  in  Rom.  16:5,  "Epaenetus 
my  beloved,  who  is  the  firstfruits  of  Asia  unto  Christ." 
This  man  was  probably  a  resident  of  Ephesus.  But 
Paul  thought  of  Ephesus  only  as  the  center  of  a  great 
province.  Up  the  valley  of  the  Maeander  the  gospel 
went  as  far  as  Colossae.  There  Philemon  became  a 
Christian  and  later  received  a  personal  letter  from  Paul. 

Epaphras,  a  fellow- worker  who  went  forth  and 
founded  the  church  at  Colossae,  is  mentioned  by  Paul 


IS6  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

in  Col.  i:6,  7.  Perhaps  all  of  the  seven  churches  of 
Asia  Minor  to  whom  the  seven  letters  of  the  Book  of 
Revelation  were  addressed  were  founded  at  this  time 
by  Paul  and  his  supporters.  As  the  sailors  and  mer- 
chants at  Corinth  carried  the  gospel  to  distant  places, 
so  probably  in  Ephesus  the  innumerable  pilgrims  to  the 
Temple  of  Diana  carried  the  seed  of  the  gospel  back  to 
their  homes  in  the  cities  of  Asia  and  also  to  neighboring 
provinces. 

The  school  of  Tyrannus,  to  which  Paul  went  after 
his  three  months  at  the  synagogue,  was  probably  a  lec- 
ture hall  used  during  the  morning  hours  for  philosophical 
and  scientific  instruction.  In  that  hot  climate  it  was 
customary  to  begin  work  early  so  as  to  have  the  burden 
of  the  day's  work  done  by  eleven  o'clock.  Thus  it  would 
be  easy  for  Paul  to  hold  his  discourses  during  the  com- 
parative leisure  of  the  afternoon.  This  program  also 
gave  Paul  an  opportunity  to  work  at  his  trade  with 
Aquila  and  Priscilla  during  the  morning  hours.  Pos- 
sibly Tyrannus,  the  head  of  the  school  or  college,  was 
inclined  to  approve  Paul's  gospel  and  generously  assisted 
by  offering  the  use  of  his  hall. 

A  great  part  of  Paul's  work  was  also  done  toward 
sunset  and  in  the  evening,  when  he  personally  visited 
one  home  and  another.  In  his  address  to  the  Ephesian 
elders  he  lays  chief  emphasis  upon  this  latter  side  of  his 
activity.  ''Serving  the  Lord  with  all  lowliness  of  mind 
....  I  shrank  not  from  declaring  unto  you  anything 
that  was  profitable From  house  to  house  testi- 
fying both  to  Jews  and  Greeks  ....  I  ceased  not  to 

admonish  everyone  night  and  day  with  tears 

These  hands  ministered  unto  my  necessity.     I  gave  you 


AT  EPHESUS  157 

an  example  that  ye  ought  to  help  the  weak"  (Acts 
20:18-35). 

Paul  became  known  as  the  friend  of  the  people,  the 
one  who  comforted  the  afflicted  and  bereaved,  telling  of 
the  sufferings  of  Christ  and  of  the  glory  of  the  resurrec- 
tion. Doubtless  he  often  gave  of  his  own  hard-earned 
money  to  relieve  poverty  and  misery  as  well  as  dis- 
pensed strength  and  courage  to  any  who  were  sick  or 
diseased  or  mentally  distressed.  Afflicted  ones  whom 
Paul  could  not  find  time  to  visit  were  helped  and  even 
sometimes  cured  by  a  scarf  or  handkerchief  or  any  token 
which  represented  to  them  the  beneficent  power  of  this 
man  whom  they  so  idealized  and  perhaps  idolized. 

The  story  of  the  seven  sons  of  Sceva  shows  that 
these  wandering  Jewish  exorcists  had  strayed  from  home 
religiously  as  well  as  geographically.  They  probably 
made  considerable  money  at  their  evil  art  of  casting 
spells  about  people,  reciting  formulas  which  called  upon 
evil  spirits  to  come  forth,  and  claiming  generally  to  per- 
form magic  cures  through  the  naming  of  unseen  powers 
who  heal  and  bless.  Recent  finds  of  papyri  have  yielded 
many  examples  of  these  formulas.  Among  them  are 
some  of  these  peculiarly  Jewish  forms.  Among  the 
Jewish  forms  the  following  is  one  which  would  seem  to 
fit  the  description  of  Acts  19:13.  It  undertakes  by  a 
magic  use  of  the  name  of  Jesus  to  frighten  away  evil 
spirits. 

A  notable  spell  for  driving  out  demons.  Invocation  to  be 
uttered  over  the  head  (of  the  possessed  one).  Place  before  him 
branches  of  olive,  and  standing  behind  him  say:  Hail,  spirit  of 
Abraham;  hail,  spirit  of  Isaac;  haU,  spirit  of  Jacob;  Jesus  the 
Christ,  the  holy  one,  the  spirit  ....  drive  forth  the  devil  from 


158  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

this  man,  until  this  unclean  demon  of  Satan  shall  flee  before  thee. 
I  adjure  thee,  O  demon,  whoever  thou  art,  by  the  God  Sabar- 
barbathioth  Sabarbarbathiuth  Sabarbarbathioneth  Sabarbar- 
baphai.  Come  forth,  O  demon,  whoever  thou  art,  and  depart 
from  so-and-so  at  once,  at  once,  now.  Come  forth,  O  demon,  for 
I  chain  thee  with  adamantine  chains  not  to  be  loosed,  and  I  give 
you  over  to  black  chaos  in  utter  destruction  [Milligan,  Greek 
Papyri,  No.  47]. 

The  wandering  Jews,  or  at  least  two  of  them,  when 
they  tried  their  new  up-to-date  formula  containing  the 
name  of  the  latest  divinity,  met  with  an  unexpected 
reception.  The  one  upon  whom  they  tried  it  had  prob- 
ably heard  of  Paul  and  had  gained  some  idea  of  his  spirit 
and  sympathy.  The  contrast  between  Paul's  unselfish 
helpfulness  and  the  money-making  schemes  of  these 
men,  and  the  even  greater  contrast  between  Paul's 
possible  description  of  the  Great  Physician  and  the  mo- 
notonous magic  incantations  of  these  exorcists,  angered 
the  afflicted  man.  News  of  the  way  in  which  he  attacked 
the  exorcists  and  put  them  both  to  flight  spread  to  the 
company  of  Christians  and  then  into  the  synagogue  and 
to  the  Greeks  of  the  city. 

The  burning  of  the  books  was  the  outcome.  Luke 
indicates  in  Acts  19:18  that  some  of  the  Christians  them- 
selves had  continued  to  use  magic  formulas.  Many 
others  were  converted  by  the  incident  of  the  exorcist 
and  brought  their  books.  Still  others  who  may  have 
had  no  special  Christian  conversion  lost  faith  in  the  power 
of  incantations  generafly.  Fifty  thousand  drachmas, 
about  ten  thousand  dollars,  would  buy  several  thousand 
such  books  or  rolls.  When  they  were  all  publicly  burned 
the  celebration  must  have  been  not  a  small  one.  It  was 
indeed  a  far  greater  blow  at  magic  than  the  conversion  of 


AT  EPHESUS  159 

the  ventriloquist  girl  at  Philippi.  As  at  Philippi,  so 
here  at  Ephesus,  Paul's  greatest  persecution  was  to  be 
at  the  hands  of  those  who  made  fortunes  by  exploiting 
the  religious  instincts  of  the  people. 

Luke  was  probably  not  with  Paul  in  Ephesus,  for 
his  quotations  from  his  diary  do  not  begin  again  until 
the  next  chapter.  He  has  told  us  much  of  Paul's  suc- 
cesses and  little  of  his  difficulties.  We  must  go  to  Paul's 
own  letters  to  find  references  to  what  he  endured  in  the 
great  struggle.  While  at  Ephesus  he  wrote  to  the 
Corinthians  in  I  Cor.  16:9:  "A  great  door  and  effectual 
is  opened  unto  me,  and  there  are  many  adversaries."  In 
the  same  letter  in  15 :  32  are  his  words  that  he  had  "  fought 
w^th  beasts  at  Ephesus."  Shortly  after  leaving  Ephesus 
he  wrote  in  Rom.  16:4  that  Aquila  and  Priscilla  had 
risked  their  own  lives  for  his  sake.  Three  verses  later  he 
wrote  of  Andronicus  and  Junias,  his  "fellow-prisoners." 

The  "prison  of  St.  Paul"  is  one  of  the  prominent 
ruins  existing  today  at  Ephesus.  Did  Paul  actually 
spend  a  time  in  prison  here  ?  There  is  an  early  Christian 
tradition  that  he  did.  Moreover,  in  the  same  year  in 
which  he  left  Ephesus  he  wrote  in  II  Cor.  1:8  of  "our 
affliction  which  befell  us  in  Asia  ....  that  we  despaired 

even  of  life We  had  the  sentence  of  death  within 

ourselves  ....  God  delivered  us  out  of  so  great  a 
death."  In  the  same  letter  in  11:23  he  says  that  he 
had  been  very  often  in  prison.  The  only  imprisonment 
which  Luke  records  up  to  this  time  was  the  brief  one  at 
Philippi.  Very  likely  at  least  one  of  the  many  imprison- 
ments occurred  at  Ephesus. 

As  Acts  gives  information  of  Paul's  successes  and  the 
epistles  afford  an  insight  into  some  of  his  hardships,  so 


i6o  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

another  later  source  throws  very  interesting  hght  upon 
the  spirit  and  customs  of  the  early  Christian  converts 
themselves.  The  governor  of  Bithynia,  a  province 
adjoining  Asia,  wrote  a  letter  in  the  year  no  to  the 
Roman  emperor  asking  how  severely  he  ought  to  per- 
secute the  Christians.  The  governor  was  Pliny  the 
Younger,  and  the  letter  is  No.  96  of  his  collected  epistles. 
After  stating  the  general  situation  he  continues  as 
follows : 

With  those  who  have  been  brought  before  me  as  Christians 
I  have  pursued  the  following  course.  I  have  asked  them  if  they 
were  Christians,  and  if  they  have  confessed,  I  have  asked  them  a 
second  and  a  third  time,  threatening  them  with  punishment:  if 
they  have  persisted,  I  have  commanded  them  to  be  led  away  to 
punishment.  For  I  did  not  doubt  that  whatever  that  might  be 
which  they  confessed,  at  any  rate  pertinacious  and  inflexible 
obstinacy  ought  to  be  punished.  There  have  been  others  .... 
who  as  Roman  citizens  I  have  decided  should  be  sent  to  Rome. 
....  Others  accused  by  an  informer  ....  affirmed  that  this 
was  the  sum  of  their  guilt  or  error:  that  they  had  been  accustomed 
to  come  together  on  a  fixed  day  before  daylight  and  to  sing 
responsively  a  song  unto  Christ  as  God:  and  to  bind  themselves 
with  an  oath,  not  with  a  view  to  the  commission  of  some  crime, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  that  they  would  not  commit  theft,  nor 
robbery,  nor  adultery,  that  they  would  not  break  faith,  nor  refuse 
to  restore  a  deposit  when  asked  for  it.  When  they  had  done  these 
things,  their  custom  was  to  separate  and  to  assemble  again  to 
partake  of  a  meal,  common  yet  harmless  (which  is  not  the  char- 
acteristic of  a  nefarious  superstition). 

The  "inflexible"  loyalty  to  Christ,  the  meetings 
before  daylight,  the  responsive  singing,  the  pledges 
which  they  repeated  to  each  other  that  they  would 
abstain  from  dishonesty  and  impurity,  their  determina- 
tion never  to  break   a  promise,   their  common  meal 


AT  EPHESUS  i6i 

together  symbolizing  their  mutual  brotherliness,  all 
point  to  the  new  conception  of  religion  which  Paul  had 
brought  to  these  regions.  And  the  same  spirit  which 
caused  the  burning  of  the  books  is  also  reflected  in  a 
different  and  more  developed  form  in  the  letter  of  Pliny 
when  he  speaks  a  little  later  of  "the  temples  which  were 
almost  deserted  ....  and  the  sacred  rites  which  were 
for  a  long  time  interrupted  ....  and  fodder  for  the 
victims  for  which  hardly  a  purchaser  was  to  be  found." 
Ephesus  became  the  greatest  center  of  Christianity 
between  Antioch  and  Rome.  To  its  circle  of  seven 
churches  the  epistles  of  Revelation  were  later  addressed. 
Here  the  Gospel  of  John  was  written  for  the  especial  use 
of  the  Pauline  Christians.  Paul's  point  of  view  and 
many  of  his  favorite  expressions  and  teachings  are 
reflected  in  various  ways  in  that  Gospel. 

4,   DEPARTURE  FROM  EPHESUS 

The  public  opposition  which  finally  made  it  advisable 
for  Paul  to  leave  Ephesus  was  aroused,  not  by  the  Jews 
nor  by  the  priests  of  the  temple,  but  by  those  whose 
business  was  injured  by  his  presence.  Demetrius  made 
and  sold  the  more  expensive  kind  of  images  or  shrines. 
He  aroused  the  brotherhood  of  image-makers.  It  has 
been  well  said  that  the  whole  affair  was  the  work  of  an 
unworthy  unit  of  organized  labor.  The  Roman  Empire 
was  more  modern  in  many  ways  than  is  usually  realized. 
Inscriptions  and  papyri  tell  not  only  of  the  labor  unions, 
but  also  of  trusts  or  corporations  and  even  of  the  imperial 
regulation  of  prices  by  pubflc  proclamation.  In  Ephesus 
inscriptions  mention  in  particular  the  brotherhoods  of 
the  workers-in-wool  and  of  the  surveyors. 


i62  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

The  mob  which  the  silversmiths  succeeded  in  arousing 
grew  beyond  their  control,  so  that  "the  more  part  knew 
not  wherefore  they  were  come  together."  When  they 
seized  two  of  Paul's  fellow-workers  he  decided  to  go  to 
the  rescue.  With  his  persuasive  words  he  might  have 
quieted  the  people.  But  the  Christian  company  of 
disciples  held  him  back.  They  felt  he  would  never 
return  alive. 

It  is  evident  that  the  mob  thought  that  the  chief 
enemies  of  Artemis  and  the  temple  were  the  Jews.  The 
crowd  did  not  distinguish  between  Christian  Jews,  like 
Paul,  and  other  Jews.  It  was  an  anti- Jewish  demon- 
stration. Fortunately  Alexander  was  not  allowed  to 
make  his  defense,  for  he  would  probably  have  tried  to 
exonerate  the  Jews  by  throwing  the  blame  as  far  as 
possible  on  Paul  and  his  Christians.  For  two  hours  the 
people  kept  on  crying,  "  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians." 

The  town  clerk,  or  mayor,  succeeded  in  quieting  the 
mob  by  an  appeal  to  their  civic  pride,  and  by  a  reference 
to  the  sharpness  of  the  Roman  government  in  dealing 
with  riots  which  take  the  business  of  the  courts  into 
their  own  hands.  Nevertheless,  it  was  advisable  for  Paul 
to  leave  the  city.  He  had  been  intending  for  some  time 
to  do  so,  but  now  he  hastened  his  departure.  To  remain 
would  only  mean  further  persecution  of  the  Christian 
community. 

As  Paul  left  the  city  his  soul  was  "weighed  down 
exceedingly."  Outwardly  at  least  it  looked  in  some 
ways  as  if  Diana  of  the  Ephesians  had  conquered. 
Almost  at  the  same  time  he  received  word  that  the  church 
at  Corinth  was  on  the  point  of  repudiating  him.  How 
truly  he  could  write,  as  he  did  soon  afterward,  "the 


AT  EPHESUS  163 

suflferings  of  Christ  abound  unto  us"  (11  Cor.  1:5). 
Would  all  his  labors  be  undone  ?  We  cannot  help  wish- 
ing for  his  sake  that  the  veil  of  the  following  centuries 
might  have  been  rolled  back  for  a  moment  that  he  might 
have  seen  the  result  of  his  efforts  and  the  fruit  of  his 
planting  in  the  final  triumph  of  Christ  in  the  Roman 
Empire. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READING 

1.  Ramsay,  St.  Pmd  the  Traveller,  pp.  262-82. 

2.  Kent,  Work  and  Teachings  of  the  Apostles,  pp.  173-79. 

3.  Gilbert,  Student's  Life  of  Paul,  pp.  142-56. 

4.  Conybeare  and  Howson,  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  chaps. 

xiv-xvi. 

5.  Farrar,  Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  chap.  xxxi. 

6.  Bible  for  Home  and  School,  "Acts,"  pp.  176-87. 

7.  McGiffert,  A   History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age, 

pp.  273-90. 

8.  Bacon,  The  Story  of  St.  Paul,  pp.  174-81. 


CHAPTER  X 

FROM  EPHESUS  TO  CORINTH 

1.  Paul's  Correspondence  with  Corinth 

I  Cor.  entire;  II  Cor.  entire.  For  evidence  concerning 
the  various  communications  see  I  Cor.  5:9;  7:1;  II  Cor. 
2:4,  9;  7:8,  12.  The  student  is  also  advised  to  read 
with  care  I  Cor.  1:1 — 2:5;  chaps.  13,  15,  16;  II  Cor., 
chapters  10,  13,  9,  2,  7: 2-16  (reading  in  this  order) 

2.  Through  Macedonia  to  Corinth 

Acts  20:1-3;  II  Cor.  1:15,  16;   2:12,  13;  7:5-7,  II,  16 

3.  The  Epistle  to  the  Romans 

Romans  entire.  Read  with  especial  care  Rom.  15:22- 
33;  3:21-30;   7:7—8:2;  8:18-25,31-39;  chap.  16 

4.  From  Corinth  to  Jerusalem 

Acts  20:3 — 21:16 

I.    Paul's  correspoistdence  with  corinth 

The  lively  exchange  of  news  and  letters  between 
Paul  and  his  Christian  friends  at  Corinth  is  one  of  the 
most  fascinating  subjects  in  the  life  of  the  apostle. 
I  Corinthians  was  written  near  the  close  of  his  stay  at 
Ephesus,  for  he  writes  in  I  Cor.  16:8,  "I  will  tarry  at 
Ephesus  until  Pentecost."  But  this  was  not  his  first 
communication.  In  I  Cor.  5:9  are  the  words,  "I  wrote 
unto  you  in  my  epistle,"  indicating  that  he  had  written 
them  a  previous  letter,  of  which  unfortunately  only  a 
fragment  is  now  extant.  But  this  is  not  all.  The 
Corinthians  had  written  a  letter  to  Paul,  to  which  he 
refers  in  7:1:  "Now  concerning  the  things  whereof  ye 
wrote," 

164 


FROM  EPHESUS  TO  CORINTH  165 

Moreover,  Paul  had  repeatedly  received  verbal 
reports  of  the  progress  of  his  Corinthian  converts.  We 
have  the  names  of  several  who  brought  him  news.  On 
one  occasion  it  was  the  family  of  Chloe,  mentioned  in 
I  Cor.  1 :  1 1 .  On  another  occasion  it  was  Stephanas 
(I  Cor.  16:15  and  1:16),  the  ''firstfruits  of  Achaia," 
whom  Paul  had  himself  baptized.  Stephanas  had 
brought  with  him  Fortunatus  and  Achaicus,  by  whom 
the  church  had  apparently  sent  Paul  a  special  gift,  for 
which  he  expresses  his  gratitude  in  I  Cor.  16:17. 

But  the  relation  of  church  and  apostle  was  not  limited 
to  reports  and  letters.  At  some  time  during  his  stay 
in  Ephesus  Paul  had  himself  paid  a  visit  to  Corinth,  for 
he  writes  in  II  Cor.  12: 14  and  13:1:  "This  is  the  third 
time  I  am  coming  to  you."  Again,  he  had  sent  Timothy 
to  them.  I  Cor.  4:17  and  16: 10  perhaps  mean  that  he 
had  sent  him  on  two  different  occasions.  Titus,  too, 
had  been  sent  and  had  brought  back  comforting  news 
when  Paul  wrote  II  Cor.  7:6. 

The  reasons  for  this  lively  intercourse  are  to  be  found 
partly  in  the  proximity  of  Corinth  to  Ephesus,  partly 
also  in  the  peculiar  affection  which  Paul  felt  for  the 
church  where  he  had  spent  so  long  a  time,  but  principally 
in  a  great  crisis  which  was  developing  in  the  attitude  of 
the  church  toward  Paul.  It  became,  next  to  the  Galatian 
crisis,  the  greatest  in  Paul's  career.  Yet  the  apostle's 
firmness  and  gentleness  won  him  the  victory  at  last. 

The  history  of  the  difficulties  in  the  Corinthian 
church,  although  passed  over  in  silence  by  Luke,  can  be 
quite  fully  reconstructed  from  Paul's  letters. 

I.  In  I  Cor.  5:9-11  we  have  a  description  of  Paul's 
previous   letter.     It   was   concerned   mainly   with   the 


i66  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

question  of  whether  the  Christian  converts  might  asso- 
ciate with  immoral  persons.  This  letter  the  Corin- 
thians misunderstood.  They  interpreted  it  as  meaning 
that  Christians  should  not  associate  with  unconverted 
sinners.  In  I  Cor.  5:11  he  explains  that  his  meaning 
was  that  Christians  should  not  tolerate  the  presence  of  an 
immoral  Christian  in  their  own  ranks.  Now  it  is  a 
remarkable  fact  that  II  Cor.  6 :  14 — 7 :  i  is  a  passage  on 
exactly  this  subject  and  capable  of  precisely  the  same 
misinterpretation.  It  is  further  quite  noticeable  that 
the  thought  broken  off  in  6:13  is  picked  up  and  con- 
tinued in  7:2.  It  is  possible  and  probable  that  this 
passage  is  a  page  out  of  the  letter  in  question.  How  it 
came  to  be  preserved  in  II  Corinthians  will  be  explained 
later  in  connection  with  that  letter. 

2.  In  response  to  Paul's  brief  note  the  Corinthians 
wrote  a  somewhat  extended  letter  asking  questions  of 
various  kinds  about  their  Christian  life  and  religious 
services  (I  Cor.  7:1).  It  included  questions  about 
marriage,  about  eating  things  that  had  been  offered  in 
idol  sacrifices,  the  conduct  of  women  in  Christian  meet- 
ings, the  proper  way  to  observe  the  Lord's  Supper,  the 
relative  value  of  the  various  "gifts  of  the  spirit,"  and 
perhaps  included  finally  questions  about  the  resurrection. 
At  about  the  same  time  with  the  arrival  of  this  letter  of 
questions  came  the  news  brought  by  the  family  of  Chloe 
(I  Cor.  i:ii)  that  the  Corinthian  church  had  split  up 
into  several  factions. 

3.  In  reply  Paul  wrote  the  letter  called  I  Corinthians, 
a  letter  which  must  have  seemed  to  Paul  at  the  time  an 
extremely  long  and  elaborate  one.  It  shows  the  great 
versatihty  of  the  rrian  that  he  could  in  the  same  letter 


FROM  EPHESUS  TO  CORINTH  167 

write  six  chapters  of  reproach  and  two  passages  of  such 
extraordinary  beauty  as  chapters  13  and  15. 

The  first  four  chapters  of  I  Corinthians  have  to  do 
with  the  factions.  It  is  easy  to  understand  what  had 
happened.  When  Apollos  after  leaving  Ephesus  (Acts 
18:27)  arrived  at  Corinth  his  unusual  ability  in  the  use 
of  Scripture,  probably  both  by  the  citation  of  prophecy 
and  by  allegorical  interpretation,  soon  became  known. 
" Greeks  seek  after  wisdom,"  as  Paul  says  in  I  Cor.  1:22. 
The  learning  and  eloquence  and  public  power  of  Apollos 
pleased  the  Corinthians.  Soon  the  cry  arose  on  the  part 
of  some  that  he  was  greater  than  Paul.  His  ''wisdom" 
from  the  Greek  point  of  view  perhaps  did  exceed  Paul's. 
Any  student  of  Greek  history  knows  the  Greek  tendency 
to  party  spirit.  Although  Apollos  apparently  refused 
to  lead  his  faction  and  was  back  again  in  Ephesus  with 
Paul  when  he  wrote  I  Cor.  16:12,  the  division  in  the 
church  grew  steadily  more  bitter  and  hostile. 

There  not  unnaturally  appeared  also  in  Corinth  a 
party  which  followed  the  lead  of  the  head  apostles  at 
Jerusalem,  and  especially  of  Peter.  That  Peter  had  been 
in  Corinth  is  doubtful.  But  that  his  controversy  with 
Paul  at  Antioch  became  known  is  quite  certain.  This 
party  at  Corinth  was  probably  composed  largely  of  Jews 
and  Jewish  proselytes,  who  held  to  the  general  observance 
of  the  law  by  Jews. 

Was  there  a  fourth  party  ?  In  I  Cor.  3:22  Paul  men- 
tions only  three,  "Whether  Paul  or  Apollos  or  Cephas." 
In  1:12  he  mentions  four,  "  Each  of  you  saith,  I  am  of 
Paul,  and  I  of  Apollos,  and  I  of  Cephas,  and  I  of  Christ." 
It  is  possible  that  those  who  said  "I  of  Christ"  were  only 
a  conciliatory  group  who  were  trying  to  unify  the  church. 


1 68  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

But  it  is  far  more  likely  that  there  was  a  fourth  party 
led  by  certain  ones  who  based  their  claims  upon  personal 
relation  to  or  acquaintance  with  Jesus.  In  fact  it  seems 
to  have  been  this  Christ  party  which  later  headed  the 
whole  opposition  to  Paul  (II  Cor.  10:7;  11:23).  That 
those  who  adopted  this  watchword  "of  Christ"  were 
outsiders  who  came  probably  from  Jerusalem  is  amply 
substantiated  by  the  references  to  them  in  II  Corin- 
thians (10:7;  11:4,  13,  22,  23).  In  all  probability  they 
were  Judaizers,  who  insisted  on  a  general  observance 
of  the  Jewish  law  by  all  Christians,  both  Jews  and 
Gentiles,  and  made  much  of  personal  acquaintance  with 
Jesus. 

In  answer  to  all  this  factious  spirit  Paul  portrays  the 
simple,  unphilosophical  character  of  the  gospel  of  a 
crucified  Christ,  and  appeals  to  the  lowliness  of  his  own 
preaching  among  them  (1:10 — 3:4).  Explaining  that 
he  and  Apollos  and  others  were  only  workmen  engaged 
on  God's  one  great  work  (3:5-17),  he  begs  them  in  like 
manner  to  forsake  wrangling  and  join  in  loyal  support 
of  the  one  who  has  spent  so  long  a  time  with  them 
in  self-sacrificing  service  (3:18 — 4:16).  He  is  sending 
Timothy  and  warns  them  that  he  may  come  himself 
very  soon  (4: 17-21). 

Leaving  the  subject  of  the  factions,  Paul  in  chapters  5 
and  6  rebukes  the  immorality  and  general  bad  conduct 
which  had  been  reported  to  him.  He  mentions  espe- 
cially the  case  of  a  man  who  had  married  his  stepmother 
(chap.  5).  This  was  forbidden  both  by  Jewish  and 
Roman  law.  In  this  case  we  may  perhaps  infer  from 
the  severity  of  Paul's  rebuke  that  the  father,  though 
absent,  was  still  living. 


FROM  EPHESUS  TO  CORINTH  169 

In  chapter  7  he  turns  to  the  questions  contained  in  the 
letter  from  Corinth.  The  first  question  concerned  mar- 
riage. In  general  Paul  seems  to  exalt  celibacy  above 
wedlock.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  any  advice 
against  marrying  was  not  unrelated  to  his  expectation  of 
Christ's  speedy  coming.  His  words  concerning  personal 
chastity  must  have  been  of  great  effect  in  sanctifying  the 
marriage  vow  and  in  giving  to  women,  both  married  and 
unmarried,  the  respect  which  was  so  sadly  lacking  in  the 
profligate  city  of  Corinth. 

In  chapters  8-10  he  takes  up  their  questions  about 
eating  things  sacrificed  to  idols.  Paul  answers  that 
Christian  liberty  allows  eating  of  such  things  (chap.  8), 
but  points  to  the  fact  that  he  himself  does  not  take 
advantage  of  his  apostolic  liberty  (chap.  9).  Therefore 
the  Corinthian  Christians  should  be  guided,  not  by  what 
is  permissible,  but  by  what  is  of  most  help  to  others 
(chap.  10). 

Chapters  11-14  concern  subjects  connected  with  their 
Christian  meetings.  In  11 : 2-16  he  expresses  regret  that 
certain  Corinthian  women  had  so  far  reveled  in  their 
Christian  liberty  that  they  had  discarded  the  usual 
customs  of  decent  headdress  and  modest  behavior.  In 
reproving  the  practice  of  praying  and  prophesying  in 
public  without  a  veil,  he  says  that  since  there  is  "no 
such  custom"  neither  should  "the  churches  of  God" 
adopt  such  questionable  procedure.  In  the  same  con- 
nection he  rebukes  their  disorder  at  the  Lord's  Supper 
(11:17-34). 

Chapter  12,  dealing  with  various  spiritual  gifts, 
reflects  the  ecstatic  condition  into  which  Christians  in 
their   enthusiasm   over   possession   of    the   spirit   were 


I70  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

sometimes  carried.  Speaking  with  tongues  was  appar- 
ently practiced  at  Corinth  in  a  way  that  was  not  far 
different  from  the  rambhngs  of  a  Greek  prophetess  of 
Apollo  in  her  uttering  of  oracles.  Paul  ranks  such  unin- 
telligent speaking  with  tongues  as  the  least  of  spiritual 
gifts  (vs.  28).  Over  against  his  list  of  the  gifts  of  the 
Spirit  which  he  here  depreciates  should  be  set  his  list 
of  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  which  he  elsewhere  so  highly 
exalts — love,  joy,  peace,  long  suffering,  kindness,  good- 
ness, faithfulness,  meekness,  self-control  (Gal.  5:22  f.). 
To  this  "most  excellent  way"  he  devotes  that  marvelous 
little  poem  (chap.  13)  on  the  first  of  the  fruits  of  the 

Spirit : 

.  And  if  I  have  the  gift  of  preaching 
And  have  all  wisdom  and  knowledge  .... 
And  have  not  love 
I  am  nothing. 

In  chapter  14,  resuming  the  subject  of  spiritual  gifts, 
he  exalts  prophecy,  i.e.,  intelHgible  Christian  exhorta- 
tion or  preaching,  far  above  speaking  with  tongues 
(14 : 1-25) .  He  lays  down  the  principle  that  all  who  take 
part  in  meeting  should  speak,  not  for  their  own  edifica- 
tion, but  for  the  edification  of  all  present  (14:26-40). 

Finally  in  chapter  15  he  answers  doubts  concerning 
the  resurrection,  explaining  the  nature  of  the  resurrec- 
tion body,  and  closing  with  a  masterful  picture  of  the 
glory  of  the  resurrection.  He  adds  a  postscript  in 
chapter  16  concerning  the  collection  for  Jerusalem,  and 
sends  greeting  from  "the  churches  of  Asia,"  and  espe- 
cially from  Aquila  and  Priscilla. 

4.  In  reading  through  II  Corinthians  every  thought- 
ful inquirer  is  struck  by  a  significant  diversity  of  tone. 


FROM  EPHESUS  TO  CORINTH  171 

In  chapters  1-9  Paul  consistently  speaks  of  the  situa- 
tion in  Corinth  as  highly  pleasing  and  satisfactory.  In 
chapter  7  especially  he  speaks  of  the  great  relief  and 
comfort  brought  by  Titus  and  his  good  news.  In  verse  9 
he  writes:  "I  now  rejoice  not  that  ye  were  made  sorry 
but  that  ye  were  made  sorry  unto  repentance."  And 
again,  "  What  earnest  care  is  wrought  in  you  ?  ....  In 
everything  ye  have  proved  yourselves  to  be  pure  in  the 

matter  ....  therefore  we  have  been  comforted 

Titus  ....  remembereth  the  obedience  of  you  all. 
....  I  rejoice  that  in  everything  I  am  of  good  courage 
concerning  you." 

On  the  other  hand  chapters  10-13  ^^^  ^^^1  o^  strong 
invective.  They  tingle  with  indignation  and  denun- 
ciation. The  more  one  studies  these  chapters  the  more 
he  is  convinced  that  they  were  not  written  at  the  same 
time  with  the  earlier  chapters.  It  would  appear  that 
these  chapters  10-13  belong  to  another  letter  and  were 
placed  where  they  are  by  a  later  copyist  or  collector  of 
Paul's  correspondence.  With  this  possibility  in  mind, 
after  reading  Paul's  words  in  II  Cor.  7:16,  "I  rejoice 
that  in  everything  I  am  of  good  courage  concerning 
you,"  read  the  righteous  anger  and  cutting  sarcasm  of 
this  other  letter. 

I  beseech  you  that  I  may  not  when  present  show  courage 
with  the  confidence  wherewith  I  count  to  be  bold  against  some. 
....  For  his  letters  they  say  are  weighty  and  strong,  but  his 
bodily  presence  is  weak  and  his  speech  of  no  account.  Let  such 
a  one  reckon  this,  that  what  we  are  in  words  by  letter  when  we  are 

absent  such  are  we  also  in  deed  when  we  are  present Even 

Satan  fashioneth  himself  into  an  angel  of  light Are  they 

Hebrews  ?    So  am  I At  the  mouth  of  two  witnesses  or 

three  shall  every  word  be  established I  say  plainly  as 


172  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL  -» 

when  I  was  present  the  second  time  that  if  I  come  again  I  will  not 
spare  ....  for  this  cause  I  write  these  things  while  absent  that 
I  may  not  when  present  deal  sharply  according  to  the  authority 
which  the  Lord  gave  me. 

This  denunciatory  letter  affords  deep  insight  into  the 
personal  power  of  Paul  and  into  the  critical  nature  of  the 
battle  which  he  had  to  fight  out  at  Corinth.  But  when 
was  it  written  ?  Indications  are  quite  definite  that  it  was 
written  before  the  letter  contained  in  the  first  chapters 
of  II  Corinthians.  Three  of  these  indications  are  as 
follows : 

a)  In  II  Cor.  2:4  Paul  states,  "Out  of  much  affliction 
and  anguish  of  heart  I  wrote  unto  you  with  many 
tears."  The  letter  to  which  he  here  refers  must  have 
been  just  such  a  sharp,  intense  denunciation  of  his 
enemies  as  II  Cor.,  chaps.  10-13.  He  makes  several 
other  references  in  II  Cor.,  chaps.  1-7,  to  this  previous 
letter,  even  indicating  that  at  one  time  he  was  sorry  he 
had  sent  it.  "  Though  I  made  you  sorry  with  my  epistle, 
I  do  not  regret  it  though  I  did  regret  it"  (II  Cor.  7:8), 

b)  Another  indication  of  this  previous  letter  may  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  offender  mentioned  in  II  Cor. 
2:5-11  and  7:12  cannot  be  identified  with  the  offender 
rebuked  in  I  Cor.,  chap.  5.  Yet  Paul  says  plainly  in  2 : 9 
and  elsewhere  that  he  had  written  a  letter  concerning 
this  latter  ofTender.  It  is  quite  evident  from  2:5,  8; 
7:12  that  the  offender  was  one  who  had  personally 
insulted  and  opposed  Paul. 

c)  Finally,  still  another  hint  of  the  letter  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  Paul  sent  Timothy  at  the  time  he  wrote 
I  Corinthians,  mentioning  him  in  4: 17  and  16: 10.  But 
in  II  Cor.  7:6  and  elsewhere  it  is  Titus,  not  Timothy, 


FROM  EPHESUS  TO  CORINTH  173 

who  has  returned  from  Corinth  and  brought  back  news 
to  Paul.  Evidently  Titus  had  been  the  bearer  of  the 
letter  in  question. 

II  Corinthians  is  thus  not  one  letter  but  a  collection 
of  letters  or  parts  of  letters.  As  suggested  in  another 
chapter  of  this  volume,  Paul's  followers  after  his  death 
evidently  began  to  think  seriously  of  the  matter  of  col- 
lecting his  letters  as  far  as  they  were  still  in  existence. 
Many  churches  would  not  have  preserved  all  that  they 
received.  A  study  of  Philippians  reveals  reference  to 
several  letters  which  that  church  must  have  lost  in  whole 
or  in  part.  Some  churches  preserved  all  of  certain 
letters  and  only  parts  of  others.  Apparently  one  of 
Paul's  disciples,  going  around  after  the  death  of  the 
apostle  with  the  object  of  making  a  collection,  and  com- 
ing to  Corinth,  found  one  long  letter  which  would  just 
about  fill  a  standard  papyrus  roll.  After  copying  the 
letter  he  would  number  this  roll  Corinthians  I.  Then 
using  a  second  roll  of  papyrus  he  arranged  the  shorter 
letters  or  fragments  as  best  he  could,  copied  them,  and 
numbered  the  roll  Corinthians  11. 

In  this  second  roll  of  Corinthian  correspondence  were 
probably  to  be  found  parts  or  all  of  four  or  five  letters. 
It  was  noted  above  that  6:14 — 7:1  belongs  to  a  letter 
written  before  I  Corinthians,  advising  a  separatist 
policy  toward  immoral  Christians.  Chapters  10-13  ^^^ 
from  a  letter  of  severe  reproof  which  Paul  sent  some  time 
after  I  Corinthians  in  an  effort  to  foil  a  party  of  outsiders 
who  were  heading  up  the  whole  opposition  and  stealing 
away  his  church.  Chapters  1-7,  with  the  exception  of 
the  paragraph  noted  above,  are  an  expression  of  Paul's 
gratitude  and  relief  that  all  has  gone  well  and  that  the 


174  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

crisis  is  over.  This  was  written  from  Macedonia  upon 
the  arrival  of  Titus  (2:12,  13;  7:5).  There  are  left 
only  chapters  8  and  9,  which  deal  with  the  collection  for 
the  saints.  These  two  chapters  can  hardly  have  been 
written  at  the  same  time,  for  9:1  introduces  the  sub- 
ject in  a  way  that  indicates  it  had  not  been  mentioned 
before.  Both  pleas  for  the  collection  may  have  been 
sent  from  Macedonia  (8:1;  9:2),  and  not  far  apart  in 
time,  since  both  speak  of  Achaia  as  having  made  a  pre- 
liminary contribution  one  year  previously  (8:10;  9:2). 
The  correspondence  of  Paul  with  his  Corinthian 
Christians  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

1.  Paul's  separatist  letter  to  the  Corinthians  (II  Cor. 
6:14 — 7:1).  Mentioned  in  I  Cor.  5:9.  Written  from 
Ephesus  perhaps  in  the  year  54. 

2.  The  letter  of  the  Corinthians  to  Paul.  Men- 
tioned in  I  Cor.  7:1.  Written  early  in  55.  Contained 
questions  about  marriage,  eating  things  sacrificed  to 
idols,  etc. 

3.  Paul's  reply — our  I  Corinthians.  Written  at 
Ephesus  in  the  spring  of  55,  as  indicated  by  16:8. 
Rebukes  the  four  factions  and  answers  the  questions  of 
the  Corinthians. 

4.  Paul's  letter  of  stern  reproof  to  the  Corinthians 
(II  Cor.,  chaps.  10-13).  Mentioned  in  II  Cor.  2 14,  9;  7:8. 
Written  about  the  time  of  leaving  Ephesus,  Pentecost  55. 

5.  The  letter  of  reconciliation  (II  Cor.  1:1 — 6:13; 
7:2-16).  Written  in  Macedonia  (II  Cor.  7:5)  in  the 
summer  of  55. 

6.  Two  brief  letters  concerning  the  collection  (II  Cor., 
chaps.  8  and  9).  One  or  both  perhaps  written  in  Mace- 
donia in  55. 


FROM  EPHESUS  TO  CORINTH  175 

2.      THROUGH   MACEDONIA   TO   CORINTH 

Paul  had  previously  planned  to  go  from  Ephesus  by 
boat  across  to  Corinth  and  later  to  revisit  the  churches 
of  Macedonia.  This  plan,  mentioned  in  II  Cor.  1:16,  was 
rendered  impracticable  by  the  increased  acuteness  of  the 
dissension  in  the  Corinthian  church.  Paul  considered 
it  wiser  to  write  the  letter  of  stern  reproof.  This  he  sent 
by  the  hand  of  Titus  (II  Cor,  7:6-8),  who  had  already 
made  a  previous  trip  to  Corinth,  probably  in  connection 
with  the  collection  for  the  saints  (II  Cor.  1 2 :  18).  It  was 
in  great  uneasiness  of  mind  that  Paul  then  proceeded 
northward  toward  Macedonia.  When  he  reached  Troas 
and  found  Titus  had  not  yet  returned  he  began  to  fear 
that  the  church  had  failed  to  respond  to  his  appeal 
(II  Cor.  2:12,13;  7-6).  Momentarily  he  even  regretted 
having  sent  such  a  sharp  denunciation  (7:8). 

Upon  his  arrival  in  Macedonia  he  received  the  good 
news  from  Titus  that  the  Corinthian  church  had  been 
brought  around  to  a  firm  stand  of  loyalty  and  com- 
parative harmony.  Paul's  good  spirits  revived.  After 
writing  an  expression  of  his  joy  to  the  Corinthians  he 
went  through  the  cities  of  Macedonia,  not  only  giving 
his  Christian  friends  the  longed-for  opportunity  of  seeing 
his  face  again  but  also  imparting  to  them  "much 
exhortation"  and  encouragement. 

Although  Luke  makes  no  mention  at  this  point  of  the 
collection  for  the  saints,  Paul's  own  references  in  his 
epistles  suggest  that  this  was  one  of  the  chief  reasons  for 
this  tour  of  Macedonia.  The  two  letters,  II  Cor., 
chaps.  8  and  9,  written  at  about  this  time,  reflect  the 
importance  of  the  matter  in  the  apostle's  mind.  It  is 
possible  that  this  broad  collection  grew  out  of  the  original 


176  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

plea  made  years  before  by  the  apostles  at  the  Jerusalem 
council  that  Paul  remember  the  poor  (Gal.  2:10).  His 
purpose  in  making  the  collection,  however,  was  not 
simply  to  relieve  suffering,  but  in  large  measure  also  to 
bind  the  gentile  and  Jewish  Christians  together  in  one 
community.  One  of  Paul's  greatest  and  most  frequent 
points  of  emphasis  was  the  unity  of  all  believers  and  all 
nations  in  Christ.  Paul  loved  his  nation,  the  Jews;  he 
also  had  a  large  world-view.  He  could  not  face  the 
thought  of  a  separation.  Rather  he  devoted  his  life 
to  interpreting  Jew  to  Gentile  and  Gentile  to  Jew.  It 
was  of  utmost  importance,  then,  that  all  his  churches 
should  participate  in  this  unifying  act  of  brotherly 
sympathy. 

It  is  no  mere  accident  that  Paul  in  one  place  or 
another  mentions  all  his  churches  as  taking  part,  (i)  In 
I  Cor.  16:1  he  speaks  of  the  churches  of  Galatia.  Per- 
haps Timothy  carried  the  Galatian  collection,  since  his 
home  was  in  Galatia.  (2)  In  Macedonia  the  man  who 
had  been  appointed  to  take  charge  of  contributions  is 
mentioned  in  II  Cor.  8 :  19.  Paul  writes  of  the  collection 
in  Macedonia  also  in  Rom.  15:26.  In  II  Cor.  8:2,  3 
he  praises  the  generosity  of  the  Macedonians  who  gave 
"beyond  their  power."  (3)  The  collection  in  Achaia, 
especially  in    Corinth,    is   mentioned   in   Rom.    15:26; 

I  Cor.  16:1,  2;  II  Cor.  9:2.  That  Titus  had  charge  of 
the  collections  there  is  shown  by  Paul's  reference  in 

II  Cor.  8:6.  (4)  Although  money  from  Ephesus  is  not 
distinctly  mentioned,  the  collection  was  evidently  the 
reason  for  the  presence  of  Trophimus  the  Ephesian  at 
Jerusalem,  narrated  in  Acts  21:29.  Only  Cyprus  is 
omitted.     But  Paul  had  left  that  to  Barnabas. 


FROM  EPHESUS  TO  CORINTH  177 

This  collection  was  not  only  the  chief  mission  of  Paul 
in  Macedonia  but  also  the  chief  occasion  of  Paul's  journey 
to  Jerusalem.  Slanderous  remarks  of  Paul's  enemies 
implied  that  Paul  was  getting  selfish  gain  in  some  way 
out  of  it;  hence  Paul's  extreme  care  in  not  handling  the 
money  himself.  I  Cor.  16:2  states  that  he  even  pre- 
ferred not  to  have  the  collection  made  while  he  was 
present.  I  Cor.  16:3  shows  that  he  would  not  touch  the 
money  with  his  own  hands.  He  felt  that  his  journey 
to  Jerusalem  as  head  of  a  delegation  bringing  funds  from 
all  his  churches  would  heal  any  wounds  which  his  inde- 
pendence of  other  Christian  apostles  had  caused  at 
Jerusalem  and  would  at  the  same  time  portray  vividly 
to  the  Jewish  Christians  there  the  union  and  loyalty 
of  all  the  Christian  groups  in  the  one  great  world- 
brotherhood. 

After  completing  the  collection  in  Macedonia  he 
departed  for  one  last,  long  visit  in  Corinth.  I  Cor.  16:6 
states  that  he  hoped  to  spend  the  winter  there.  Luke's 
statement  that  he  spent  three  months  in  Greece  agrees 
with  this.  During  that  winter,  the  winter  of  55-56,  he 
lived  at  the  home  of  his  old  friend  Gains,  of  whom  he 
wrote  in  Rom.  16:23.  This  was  the  same  Gains  whom 
he  mentioned  in  I  Cor.  i :  14  as  one  of  those  whom  he  had 
personally  baptized.  His  winter's  stay  must  have  been 
full  of  earnest  yet  joyful  and  satisfying  work  amid  the 
reunited  Christian  brotherhood. 

3.      THE  EPISTLE   TO   THE   ROMANS 

During  the  winter  at  Corinth  Paul's  desire  to  see 
Rome  naturally  increased.  Ships  were  departing  con- 
stantly from  Corinth  for  the  world-capital.     At  times 


178  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

perhaps  from  the  lofty  summit  of  Acro-Corinthus  he 
looked  out  over  the  gulf  toward  the  west  and  thought  of 
possibilities  for  the  gospel  in  that  direction  even  to  the 
end  of  the  Great  Sea  at  the  shores  of  Spain  (15:24,  28). 
But  then  turning  around  he  would  gaze  into  the  distance 
toward  the  other  end  of  the  Mediterranean  and  think 
of  the  Christian  community  at  Jerusalem  and  of  the 
elaborate  collection  whicH  he  had  gathered  (15:25,  31). 

The  latter  half  of  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  Romans 
reveals  the  magnitude  of  some  of  Paul's  plans  The 
journey  of  which  he  speaks  so  simply — from  Corinth  to 
Jerusalem  and  back  to  Rome  and  to  Spain — was  a 
journey  of  at  least  four  thousand  miles.  If  he  after- 
ward returned  to  his  home  or  to  Antioch  the  minimum 
total  would  be  nearly  seven  thousand  miles.  Consider- 
ing the  slowness  of  travel  in  the  Roman  Empire,  the 
trip  was  more  elaborate  and  extended  than  a  twentieth- 
century  one  around  the  world. 

Giving  up  the  idea  of  even  hastily  visiting  Rome  in 
the  near  future,  he  did  the  next  best  thing.  He  procured 
a  letter  writer,  and  in  his  room  in  the  house  of  Gains, 
dictating  probably  a  few  hours  each  morning  before  his 
day's  work,  he  wrote  a  long  letter  to  the  Christians  in  the 
Imperial  City.  He  explained  that  he  had  been  hoping 
"these  many  years"  to  come  to  them,  that  he  had,  how- 
ever, just  taken  up  the  collection  in  Macedonia  and 
Achaia,  that  he  must  first  proceed  with  this  to  Jerusalem 
before  going  westward.  The  importance  which  he 
attached  to  the  collection  and  his  concern  that  the 
Roman  Christians  should  at  least  in  spirit  have  a  share 
in  it  are  reflected  in  his  request  for  their  prayers  that  it 
might  be  "acceptable"  at  Jerusalem. 


FROM  EPHESUS  TO  CORINTH  179 

His  reason  for  writing  lay  partly  in  the  fact  that  he 
was  so  near  Rome,  partly  also  in  his  fear  that  the  Roman 
church  would  perhaps  in  the  meantime  before  his  arrival 
be  influenced  toward  a  Judaistic  conception  of  the  gospel 
message,  mainly,  however,  in  his  farsighted  judgment 
that  he  might  not  be  "delivered  from  them  that  are 
disobedient  in  Judea."  In  case  he  should  never  reach 
Rome  he  wished  the  Christians  there  to  have  a  clear 
statement  of  his  gospel  of  spiritual  freedom. 

In  his  first  chapters  he  portrays  the  universality  of 
sin  and  guilt.  Neither  among  the  Gentiles  without  law 
(chap,  i)  nor  among  the  Jews  who  possessed  the  law 
(2:1 — 3:20)  had  men  been  able  to  achieve  "salvation" 
by  their  own  merits.  Beginning  with  3:21  and  continu- 
ing to  the  end  of  the  first  eight  chapters  he  describes  the 
new  way  of  righteousness  revealed  by  Jesus.  In  chap- 
ter 7  he  narrates  his  own  personal  struggle  with  sin, 
and  in  chapter  8  the  victory  which  he  finally  gained 
and  all  other  men  may  gain  through  the  spirit  of  Christ. 
"The  good  which  I  would  I  do  not:  but  the  evil  which  I 

would  not  that  I  practice The  spirit  of  life  in 

Christ  Jesus  made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  of 
death."  Chapters  9-1 1  take  up  the  question  of  the 
future  destiny  of  God's  chosen  people  who  have  rejected 
Jesus.  He  utters  the  earnest  hope,  even  the  confident 
conviction,  that  they  will  turn  and  be  received  into  the 
Kingdom  upon  the  same  basis  as  the  Gentiles.  Finally 
in  chapters  12-15  he  gives  a  practical  application  of 
the  spirit  of  Christ  to  the  lives  of  the  Christians  at 
Rome. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Romans  is  the  least  personal  of 
Paul's  letters.     It  should  perhaps  be  called  a  treatise 


i8o  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

rather  than  a  letter.  Yet  it  is  an  expression  of  Paul's 
inner  soul.  In  chapter  7  he  relates  his  early  battles  with 
himself.  In  chapter  9  he  cries  out  that  he  would  be  glad 
to  be  lost  himself  if  his  nation  could  be  saved.  In 
chapter  15  he  reveals  the  largest  ambitions  of  his  life. 
Thus  there  are  embodied  in  the  letter  three  elements  of 
Paul's  personal  greatness,  the  depth  and  purity  of  his 
soul,  his  absolute  devotion  to  the  welfare  of  his  fellow- 
men,  the  vastness  of  his  plans. 

Romans  ends  with  the  benediction  and  with  the 
"Amen"  at  the  close  of  chapter  15.  Chapter  16  is  a 
short  letter  of  recommendation  which  in  the  later  collect- 
ing was  copied  on  the  same  roll  with  the  long  letter. 
It  must  have  been  written  to  some  church  which  Paul 
could  call  his  own,  for  in  verse  19  he  says,  "I  rejoice  over 
you."  Its  probable  destination  appears  as  soon  as  one 
begins  to  read  it.  Priscilla  and  Aquila  were,  so  far  as 
we  know,  still  in  Ephesus.  Hence  the  note  containing  the 
salutation  to  them  was  in  all  probability  addressed  to 
that  city.  The  next  salutation  is  to  Epaenetus,  who  is 
identified  as  a  probable  Ephesian  by  the  phrase  "the 
firstfruits  of  Asia."  Two  verses  later  Paul  salutes  his 
"fellow-prisoners,"  men  whose  acquaintance  he  doubt- 
less had  made  during  the  probable  imprisonment  at 
Ephesus. 

Nowhere  else  in  the  letters  is  there  such  a  profusion 
of  salutations.  Paul  remembered  so  many  friends  who 
had  stood  by  him  in  those  three  years  at  Ephesus  that 
he  can  hardly  limit  the  number  of  names.  The  little 
note  affords  an  unusual  insight  into  the  friendships 
which  Paul  formed  wherever  he  went.  Think  of  that 
good  woman  in  Ephesus  who  had  taken  such  patient, 


FROM  EPHESUS  TO  CORINTH  i8i 

affectionate  care  of  Paul  in  that  strange  city  that  he  had 
become  accustomed  to  call  her  "mother"  (vs.  13). 

4.      FROM  CORINTH   TO   JERUSALEM 

Paul's  plan  to  sail  directly  from  Corinth  to  the  east 
was  changed  because  of  the  threatening  attitude  of  the 
Jews,  who  intended  to  do  away  with  him  if  possible  by 
fair  means  or  foul.  The  double  visitation  of  Macedonia 
he  had  before  at  Ephesus  planned  to  avoid  by  sailing 
from  Ephesus  to  Corinth  and  thence  to  Macedonia. 
Now  as  then  his  plan  was  changed,  and  he  proceeded 
through  Macedonia  a  second  time.  On  the  way  the 
seven  men  who  accompanied  him,  probably  as  official 
carriers  of  contributions  from  the  churches,  left  him  at 
Philippi  with  Luke  and  went  on  ahead  to  Troas.  These 
men  may  have  traveled  with  Paul  from  Troas  all  the 
way  to  Jerusalem.  The  words  "as  far  as  Asia"  were 
almost  certainly  not  a  part  of  the  original  text  of  Acts 
20:4.  In  fact  two  of  the  men  are  later  mentioned  by 
name  with  Paul  in  Palestine. 

The  sudden  reappearance  of  the  pronoun  "we"  in 
20:5  is  full  of  significance.  Paul's  retinue  of  delegates 
was  accompanying  "him"  (20:4).  But  at  Philippi  it 
is  "we"  who  sailed  away.  And  the  delegates,  going  on 
ahead  to  Troas,  were  waiting  for  "us."  Three  sugges- 
tions may  be  found  in  the  narrative  with  more  or  less 
clearness:  (i)  That  Luke  probably  joined  Paul  at 
Philippi  to  make  the  journey  with  him  to  Jerusalem. 
(2)  That  possibly  Luke's  decision  to  accompany  Paul 
was  in  some  way  connected  with  the  delay  which  made 
it  necessary  for  the  delegation  to  wait  at  Troas  for  "us." 
Could  it  have  been  that  Luke  was  not  expecting  to  go  and 


i82  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

that  if  Paul  had  sailed  directly  from  Corinth  he  might 
have  missed  his  physician  companion  and  the  Christian 
world  might  have  missed  the  Book  of  Acts  ?  (3)  In  any 
case  Luke  now  begins  to  make  use  of  extracts  from  his 
diary.  The  pronoun  "we"  continues,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Caesarean  imprisonment,  through  most  of 
the  rest  of  the  narrative  portion  of  the  Acts  (20:5-15; 
21:1-18;  27:1 — 28:16).  That  original  daily  record  of 
travel  Luke  apparently  wrote  so  regularly  that  he  pre- 
served names  of  even  little  unimportant  stops  which 
the  vessel  made,  such  as  the  touching  at  Samos 
(20:15). 

One  of  the  incidents  recorded  by  Luke  in  his  journal 
was  that  of  the  young  man  at  Troas  who  became  sleepy 
when  Paul  talked  too  long.  Perhaps  even  to  his  grand- 
children on  his  knees  Luke  narrated  how  Paul  "pro- 
longed his  speech  until  midnight"  and  how  "as  Paul 
discoursed  yet  longer"  the  lad  was  borne  down  with 
"deep  sleep."  But  the  story  had  its  serious  side,  for 
the  lad  was  apparently  killed  by  his  fall  from  the  window. 
Although  Luke  was  a  physician,  he  seems  to  say  (vs.  9) 
that  the  boy  was  dead,  and  implies  that  Paul  restored  him 
to  life  in  the  same  manner  as  Elijah  restored  the  widow's 
son  in  I  Kings  17:21. 

From  Troas  Paul  went  by  land  as  far  as  Assos,  about 
twenty  miles,  and  there  rejoined  his  ship.  The  frequent 
stopping  of  the  vessel,  which  was  of  course  largely  for 
loading  and  unloading  of  freight,  is  paralleled  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  in  the  case  of  modern  steamers.  For 
example,  nearly  every  steamer  which  stops  at  Smyrna 
remains  long  enough  for  a  tourist  to  make  the  trip  to  the 
ruins  of  Ephesus  and  back  to  Smyrna.     Similarly  in 


FROM  EPHESUS  TO  CORINTH  183 

Paul's  day  at  Miletus,  although  he  could  not  tell  exactly 
when  his  "steamer"  might  sail,  and  so  would  not  wish 
to  leave  the  vicinity,  he  still  had  time  to  send  for  the 
elders  at  Ephesus  for  a  parting  word  with  them. 

Paul's  reason  for  choosing  a  ship  which  sailed  past 
Ephesus  without  stopping  lay  no  doubt  partly  in  the 
thought  that  his  reappearance  at  Ephesus  so  soon  after 
his  stormy  departure  would  occasion  trouble,  but 
principally  in  the  fact  that  the  unexpected  second  trip 
through  Macedonia  had  delayed  him  considerably.  He 
was  very  anxious  to  be  in  Jerusalem  at  Pentecost.  This 
day  was  not  only  a  great  Jewish  celebration,  but  an 
anniversary  of  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  described 
in  Acts,  chap.  2.  It  would  be  a  particularly  opportune 
and  appropriate  occasion  for  presenting  the  contribution 
of  the  gentile  churches  to  the  Jewish  Christians. 

The  farewell  at  Miletus  perhaps  served  Paul's  pur- 
pose better  than  a  visit  to  Ephesus.  His  principal  wish 
was  that  his  disciples  there  should  remain  true  to  him 
and  his  teaching.  They  would  understand  after  these 
words  that  any  fate  which  might  overtake  him  at 
Jerusalem  did  not  mean  his  defeat,  but  the  unflinching 
completion  of  his  purpose.  If  "they  should  behold  his 
face  no  more,"  they  could  not  help  remembering  his 
personal  work  and  his  self-sacrificing  devotion  in  their 
behalf.  His  closing  words  preserve  a  saying  of  Jesus 
nowhere  else  recorded:  "It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than 
to  receive." 

When  Paul  and  his  friends  on  their  eastward  voyage 
sailed  past  Cyprus,  Paul  perhaps  pointed  out  to  Luke 
the  mountains  of  that  island,  describing  his  missionary 
campaign  with  Barnabas.     Ever  afterward  those  words 


1 84  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

"sight  of  Cyprus"  in  Luke's  diary  would  remind  him  of 
the  beginning  and  the  end  of  Paul's  missionary  journeys. 
Arrived  at  Tyre  the  company  had  to  wait  seven  days 
for  a  ship  in  which  to  continue  the  voyage.  Paul  was 
warned  that  Jewish  antagonism  had  mounted  high 
against  him.  But  again  he  set  his  face  steadfastly  to  go 
up  to  Jerusalem,  as  Jesus  had  done  before  him.  The 
voyage  ended  at  Ptolemais,  and  the  rest  of  the  trip  was 
to  be  made  by  land.  After  stopping  only  overnight  the 
travelers  on  the  next  day  came  as  far  as  Caesarea.  Here 
at  the  place  where  Paul  was  soon  afterward  to  spend  two 
years  in  prison  he  received  his  final  warning.  The 
nearer  he  came  to  Jerusalem  the  more  clearly  his  Chris- 
tian comrades  told  him  of  the  danger  ahead.  He  did 
not  waver.  After  a  few  days  the  journey  up  the  slope 
toward  Jerusalem  was  begun.  Although  the  road  had 
been  well  paved  by  the  Romans,  the  distance  was  some- 
what long  for  a  single  day's  ride.  The  night  was  passed 
at  the  home  of  an  early  disciple  from  Cyprus  named 
Mnason.  The  word  "early"  is  a  hint  that  he  had  been 
converted  by  Paul  on  that  first  journey.  Here  again  the 
beginning  and  the  end  came  close  together.  Paul  could 
narrate  to  his  host  the  general  course  of  all  that  had 
happened  since  he  left  the  island.  The  next  morning, 
continuing  the  journey,  the  company  arrived  at  Jeru- 
salem, probably  only  a  few  days  before  Pentecost. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READING 

1.  Ramsay,  Si.  Paul  the  Traveller,  pp.  283-303. 

2.  Kent,  Work  and  Teachings  of  the  Apostles,  pp.  151-55;  185-90. 

3.  Gilbert,  Student's  Life  of  Paul,  pp.  157-74- 

4.  Conybeare  and  Howson,  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  chaps. 


FROM  EPHESUS  TO  CORINTH  185 

5.  Farrar,  Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  chap,  xxxiv. 

6.  Bible  for  Home  and  School,  "Acts,"  pp.  187-200. 

7.  McGiffert,  A  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age, 
pp.  290-337. 

8.  Cone,  Paul,  pp.  107-27;  138-42. 

9.  Bacon,  The  Story  of  St.  Paul,  182-85;  266-97. 

ON   THE   CORINTHIAN   LETTERS   AND   ROMANS 

10.  Burton,  Handbook  of  the  Life  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  pp.  59-78. 

11.  Goodspeed,  Story  of  the  New  Testament,  pp.  14-34. 

12.  Mofifatt,  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament,  pp.  108-49. 


CHAPTER  XI 

ARREST  AND  APPEAL 

1.  Arrest  at  Jerusalem 

Acts  21:17 — 23:35 

2.  Two  Years  at  Caesarea 

Acts  24:1-27 

3.  Appeal  to  the  Emperor 

Acts  25:1 — 26:32 

4.  The  Voyage  and  Shipwreck 

Acts  27:1 — 28:15 

I.      ARREST  AT  JERUSALEM 

To  understand  the  incidents  narrated  in  Acts, 
chaps.  21-25,  it  is  necessary  to  have  clearly  in  mind  the 
various  factors  in  the  situation  and  the  attitude  of  each 
toward  Paul  and  his  Jerusalem  visit.  The  principal 
factors  were  six:  (i)  Paul  himself,  (2)  the  Jerusalem 
apostles,  (3)  the  legalistic  element  in  the  Christian  com- 
munity at  Jerusalem,  (4)  the  non-Christian  Jews, 
(5)  the  gentile  Christians,  (6)  the  Roman  authorities. 

I.  Paul's  object  in  making  this  Jerusalem  visit  was, 
as  stated  before,  to  preserve  and  establish  the  unity  of 
Christendom,  no  matter  what  might  be  the  hazard  or 
the  cost  to  him  personally.  His  fear  was  that  Chris- 
tianity would  be  divided  into  a  Jewish  Christian  body 
that  would  be  more  Jewish  than  Christian  and  a  gentile 
Christian  body  that  would  lack  the  strength  that  would 
come  from  close  connection  with  the  Old  Testament 
religion  and  with  the  personal  disciples  of  Jesus.     Each 

186 


ARREST  AND  APPEAL  187 

branch  of  the  church  needed  the  other,  and  Paul  was 
determined  if  possible  to  keep  them  together.  This  was 
the  purpose  of  the  collection  and  of  his  insistence  upon 
carrying  it  to  Jerusalem  himself.  Of  course  Paul  was 
also  determined  that  in  maintaining  this  union  the 
Gentiles  should  not  be  subjected  to  Judaistic  legalism. 
But  that  point  did  not  come  up  on  this  visit.  That  had 
been  settled  by  the  previous  Jerusalem  conference  and 
by  the  Antiochian,  Galatian,  and  Corinthian  contro- 
versies. The  purifying  of  the  four  men  that  had  a  vow 
(Acts  21:24),  as  will  be  seen  later,  had  nothing  to  do 
with  the  freedom  of  Gentiles  from  all  such  ceremonies. 
This  visit  was  solely  in  the  interest  of  promoting  a 
practical  brotherly  unity  of  all  believers,  Jew  and 
Gentile,  in  Christ. 

2.  The  pillar  apostles  represented  by  James  (21:18) 
w^ere  apparently  in  entire  sympathy  with  Paul's  gentile 
mission  in  general  and  with  his  purpose  on  this  visit  in 
particular.  When  Paul,  as  Luke  says,  "rehearsed  one 
by  one  the  things  which  God  had  wrought  among  the 
Gentiles,"  they  "glorified  God."  James  was  apparently 
quite  willing  to  welcome  the  conversion  of  Gentiles  on  a 
non-legaUstic  basis.  But  there  was  another  element  in 
the  church  with  which  he  had  to  reckon. 

3.  The  legaHsts  in  the  Jerusalem  church  made  the 
situation  a  three-cornered  one,  as  was  the  case  in  the 
earlier  Jerusalem  conference  (Gal.,  chap.  2;  Acts, 
chap.  15).  The  question  raised  this  time  was  not  the 
circumcision  of  Gentiles  but  Paul's  attitude  toward  the 
observance  of  the  law  by  Jews.  Possibly  these  legalists 
were  so  numerous  and  at  the  same  time  so  suspicious  of 
Paul  that  they  held  back  the  church  from  a  hearty 


i88  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

response  to  the  handing  over  of  the  collection.  Luke 
has  nothing  to  say  concerning  the  receiving  of  the  money 
or  concerning  any  expression  of  thanks  to  the  Gentiles. 
Perhaps  Paul's  fear  that  his  ministration  might  not  be 
"acceptable"  (Rom.  15:30,  31)  proved  to  have  real 
ground. 

The  pillar  apostles  wishing  to  assist  him  in  his  purpose 
of  cementing  friendship  between  Jew  and  Gentile  made 
a  proposition  that  he  should  conciliate  the  legalists  by 
assisting  in  the  purifying  of  four  Jews  who  were  perhaps 
too  poor  to  carry  out  all  the  ceremonies  themselves.  In 
one  respect  this  proposition  paralleled  the  request  made 
years  before  that  Paul  circumcise  Titus,  in  that  both 
were  based,  not  on  the  conviction  of  the  apostles  them- 
selves, but  upon  the  scruples  of  the  legalists  in  the 
church  (cf.  Gal.  2:1-10).  The  pillar  apostles  wished 
Paul  to  give  assurance  that  the  acceptance  of  the  Gentiles 
on  a  non-legalistic  basis  did  not  mean  that  he  was 
encouraging  disregard  of  the  law  on  the  part  of  Jewish 
Christians  (Acts  21:21). 

This  request  was  one  with  which  Paul  could  comply. 
So  far  as  we  know  he  never  undertook  any  program  of 
dissuading  Jews  from  observance  of  their  law.  While 
it  was  doubtless  true  that  these  legalists  were  more 
Jewish  than  Christian,  yet  they  were  members  of  the 
Christian  community  and  therefore  came  within  Paul's 
purpose  of  conciliation  and  unification.  So  he  consented 
to  take  a  share  in  the  purifying  rites.  The  last  part  of 
verse  24,  "that  thou  thyself  also  walkest  orderly,  keep- 
ing the  law,"  in  Luke's  report  of  what  James  said  can- 
not have  been  based  upon  a  profession  on  Paul's  part 
that  he  always  on  all  occasions  kept  the  law.     For  he 


ARREST  AND  APPEAL  189 

had  reproved  Peter  at  Antioch  for  observing  legal 
scruples  at  the  expense  of  Christian  brotherhood.  Verse 
25  also,  referring  to  the  restrictions  placed  upon  the 
Gentiles,  should  be  read  in  the  light  of  what  has  been 
said  concerning  these  "decrees"  in  connection  with  the 
Antioch  incident.  They  were  undoubtedly  restrictions 
placed  only  upon  Gentiles  in  Judea  and  in  localities 
where  Jews  predominated.  With  these  modifications 
of  the  narrative  we  may  conclude  that  Paul  willingly 
undertook  to  follow  the  conciliatory  suggestion  of  the 
apostles.  But  this  well-meant  and  well-received  propo- 
sition led  to  a  serious  clash  with  the  non-Christian  Jews. 

4.  The  Jews  outside  the  Christian  circle  would  per- 
haps have  found  no  special  occasion  for  inciting  feeling 
against  Paul  had  they  not  found  him  in  the  Temple. 
The  general  attitude  of  the  Jews,  however,  toward 
Paul's  gentile  preaching  was  one  of  intense  hostihty. 
Their  view  was  that  in  the  great  cities  of  the  empire  he 
was  stealing  away  many  Jews  and  a  host  of  the  "fearers 
of  God"  from  the  synagogues  of  the  Dispersion,  pro- 
claiming that  men  may  be  saved  apart  from  the  law. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  the  Dispersion  he  was  found- 
ing a  rival  rehgion  which  was  undermining  their  work 
of  winning  Gentiles  to  the  worship  of  Jehovah.  It  was 
natural  that  the  Jerusalem  outbreak  should  be  led  by 
Jews  of  Asia,  the  province  in  which  Paul  had  recently 
been  spending  three  years  of  active  preaching.  These 
men  roused  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem  by  saying  that  Paul 
had  brought  with  him  into  the  Temple  Trophimus,  a 
gentile  Christian  of  Ephesus. 

5.  Gentile  Christians  were  not  so  specifically  objects 
of  hatred  by  the  Jews  as  Paul  was.     Paul  was  regarded 


I90  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

as  having  turned  against  his  own  national  reHgion. 
Toward  gentile  Christians  in  general  the  attitude 
among  the  Dispersion  seems  to  have  been  mainly  one 
of  "jealousy"  (Acts  17:5).  There  are  hints  of  persecu- 
tion of  Christians  by  Jews  (I  Thess.  2:14)  and  of  an 
intense  feehng  that  if  the  Christians  were  right  the 
Jews  must  be  lost  (Phil,  i :  28).  But  it  was  not  so  much 
the  sight  of  Trophimus  in  Jerusalem  which  angered  the 
Jews  as  the  presence  in  the  Temple  of  him  whom  they 
considered  the  archenemy  of  the  Temple  and  its  elab- 
orate worship,  and  who  had  forfeited  his  native  rights 
in  relation  to  it. 

6.  The  Roman  authorities  had  two  reasons  for  accord- 
ing Paul  just  and  Hberal  treatment.  On  the  one  side  the 
government  had  a  well-estabhshed  and  far-reaching 
policy  of  toleration  toward  all  rehgions.  The  Jews  had 
been  especially  privileged  in  this  regard.  Moreover, 
Paul  was  himself  born  a  Roman  citizen  and  as  such  was 
immune  from  all  local  persecution,  having  a  right  to 
claim  the  protection  of  Roman  officials  in  any  case  of 
necessity.  In  the  Book  of  Acts  Luke  takes  special 
interest  in  narrating  cases  in  which  Paul  and  his 
fellow- Christians  were  vindicated,  portraying  the  atti- 
tude of  the  government  as  constantly  and  consistently 
friendly. 

The  excitement  and  the  outbreak  in  the  Temple, 
directed  primarily  against  Paul,  centered  around  the 
accusation  that  he  had  brought  Trophimus,  a  Gentile, 
into  the  inner  court.  The  notice  warning  foreigners 
against  entering  was  discovered  some  years  ago  and  is 
now  in  the  museum  in  Constantinople.  There  are 
copies  of  it  in  various  American  museums  (e.g.,  Haskell). 


ARREST  AND  APPEAL  191 

The  stone  is  about  two  feet  high  by  three  feet  in  width. 

The  inscription  reads  as  follows : 

No  foreigner  may 
Enter  within  the  railing 
Or  boundary  line  of  the 
Sanctuary.     Whoever  is 
Caught  is  himself  responsible 
For  the  consequences 
Which  are  death. 

It  is  not  impossible  that  some  of  the  scars  upon  this 
block  were  made  by  Roman  battle-axes.  Mommsen  in 
his  Roman  History  writes  that  if  the  marks  are  those  of 
an  ax  undoubtedly  they  were  inflicted  by  the  soldiers 
of  Titus  at  the  sack  of  the  city  in  70  a.d.  If  the  soldiers 
did  seek  to  vent  their  anger  upon  it  they  found  it  rugged 
and  solid  like  the  Jewish  religion  itself.  The  stone 
measures  over  a  foot  in  thickness. 

The  Roman  guard  saved  Paul  from  suffering  such  a 
fate  as  befell  Stephen.  This  guard  had  become  par- 
ticularly watchful  in  these  last  years  of  the  Jewish  state. 
Stationed  in  the  tower  of  Antonia  at  the  corner  of  the 
Temple  area,  the  soldiers  heard  immediately  any  dis- 
turbance which  might  arise.  In  this  case  Lysias  was 
especially  quick  in  acting  because  in  the  suppression 
of  a  recent  uprising  the  leader,  who  was  known  as  "the 
Egyptian,"  had  apparently  escaped  (Acts  21:38). 
Instead  of  a  Jewish  fanatical  insurrectionist,  Lysias 
found  a  man  who  could  address  him  in  the  Greek  lan- 
guage, not  a  native  of  Palestine,  but  a  "citizen  of  no 
mean  city."  He  at  once  consented  to  Paul's  request 
to  be  allowed  to  address  the  people. 

Paul's  words  ought  to  have  impressed  the  Jews  by 
their  evident  sincerity  if  for  no  other  reason.     But  the 


192  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

conversion  experience  which  meant  so  much  to  him  did 
not  mean  much  to  these  excited  and  noisy  antagonists. 
Representatives,  not  of  the  true  spirit  of  Judaism,  which 
found  such  noble  and  notable  expression  in  the  psalm- 
ists and  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament,  but  of  the  per- 
verted legalism  of  later  times,  itself  akin  in  spirit  to 
those  who  in  the  days  of  the  prophets  resisted  and 
rejected  their  message,  they  failed  to  see  in  Paul  a  true 
successor  of  the  prophets  and  conseirvator  of  the  best 
traditions  of  the  nation. 

When  Paul's  speech  failed  to  end  the  tumult,  Lysias, 
who  had  perhaps  not  understood  the  Aramaic  speech, 
commanded  him  to  be  examined  under  scourging  in 
order  to  force  a  confession  of  whatever  misdemeanor 
had  so  aroused  the  people.  Then  it  was  that  Paul 
uttered  those  famous  words,  "But  I  am  a  Roman  born." 

All  charges  of  a  religious  nature  were  brought  to 
trial  before  the  Sanhedrin.  If  the  Sanhedrin  had 
decided  that  Paul  was  worthy  of  death,  the  next  step 
would  have  been  to  secure  the  consent  of  the  Roman 
government  to  his  execution.  But  by  his  skilful  han- 
dling of  the  situation  he  escaped  conviction  by  that 
council. 

As  he  was  beginning  his  defense  the  high  priest,  as 
Luke  records  (Acts  23 : 2),  gave  command  to  smite  him  on 
the  mouth.  While  this  seems  incredible,  it  is  not  out 
of  line  with  the  statement  of  Josephus  that  this  same 
Ananias  a  few  years  later  came  to  a  violent  end  at  the 
hands  of  the  Jews. 

Paul  had  perhaps  at  one  time  been  himself  a  member 
of  the  Sanhedrin  (cf.  Acts  26: 10).  He  knew  the  nature 
of  that  body  and  the  differences  of  view  which  existed. 


ARREST  AND  APPEAL  193 

By  his  words,  "Brethren,  I  am  a  Pharisee,"  and  by  his 
reference  to  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  (cf.  Mark 
12:18),  he  precipitated  a  division  in  the  council  be- 
tween the  Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees.  It  is  easy  to 
see  how  in  the  dissension  which  followed,  Lysias  decided 
to  remove  the  cause  of  the  disturbance  and  to  bring 
him  back  to  the  castle. 

But  the  enemies  of  Paul  were  persistent.  They 
rightly  felt  that  if  they  did  not  succeed  in  doing  away 
with  Paul  in  Jerusalem,  the  center  of  Judaism,  they 
would  have  much  less  chance  of  succeeding  anywhere 
else.  When  the  rioting  failed,  when  the  Sanhedrin 
council  failed,  their  only  recourse  was  to  secret  plotting. 
Such  plots  under  oath  were  very  common  in  the  last 
years  of  Jerusalem.  But  Paul  had  many  friends  in  the 
city.  It  is  possible  that  Paul's  sister's  son  was  not  a 
Christian,  and  therefore  was  the  more  easily  able  to 
learn  about  the  plot  and  to  bring  the  news  of  it  to  the 
Roman  captain. 

Lysias,  impressed  by  the  intensity  of  the  hatred 
against  Paul,  decided  that  political  expediency  demanded 
his  removal.  He  provided  as  elaborate  protection  as 
he  would  on  ordinary  occasions  have  given  to  a  member 
of  an  official  Roman  delegation.  Seventy  cavalry  and 
four  hundred  infantry  set  out  secretly  by  night  to 
escort  him  to  the  Roman  governor  of  Judea  residing  at 
Caesarea. 

2.      TWO   YEARS   AT  CAESAREA 

Caesarea,  which  a  hundred  years  before  Paul's 
imprisonment  had  been  an  insignificant  village,  was 
rebuilt  and  beautified  by  Herod  the  Great.    He  named 


194  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

it  after  Caesar  Augustus,  erecting  there  a  temple  for  the 
worship  of  the  emperor.  The  roadway  from  Jerusalem 
to  Caesarea,  splendidly  paved  with  huge  blocks  of  stone, 
can  still  be  traced  down  the  mountain  slopes.  Caesarea 
became  the  Roman  port  of  Jerusalem  and  after  6  b.c. 
the  residence  of  the  Roman  governors  of  Judea.  The 
great  library  of  a  later  day,  when  Eusebius  wrote  here 
his  history  of  Christianity,  had  perhaps  already  been 
started  in  the  time  of  Paul. 

Felix,  the  governor  of  Judea,  was  appointed  in  the 
year  52  by  the  emperor  Claudius.  He  and  his  brother 
had  been  slaves  in  the  family  of  Claudius  at  Rome. 
Tacitus  says  that  even  when  ruling  a  province  he  did  it 
"in  the  spirit  of  a  slave."  He  was  one  of  the  least 
efl&cient  of  the  governors  of  Judea.  He  accepted  bribes 
wherever  and  whenever  he  could  get  them.  When  he 
found  the  Jews  restless  he  deliberately  took  advantage 
of  the  situation  by  fomenting  uprisings  that  he  might 
execute  whom  he  wished  and  confiscate  their  property 
for  his  own  use. 

The  first  wife  of  Felix  was  a  daughter  of  Anthony  and 
Cleopatra.  His  later  wife,  Drusilla,  mentioned  in  Acts 
24:24,  a  Jewess  renowned  for  her  beauty,  had  been 
alienated  by  Felix  from  her  former  husband.  She  died 
in  the  eruption  of  Vesuvius  in  79. 

At  the  hearing  before  Felix  the  professional  lawyer 
TertuUus,  without  much  regard  for  veracity,  said 
those  things  which  were  calculated  to  appeal  to  such  a 
governor.  Paul's  answer  in  its  decisive  refutation  of 
the  charges  and  its  demand  for  justice  apparently  also 
made  an  impression.  But  it  is  not  probable  that  Felix 
cared  much  about  Paul's  innocence  of  the  charge.     The 


ARREST  AND  APPEAL  195 

two  facts  which  saved  Paul  and  gained  for  him  some 
degree  of  freedom  were  (i)  his  Roman  citizenship  and 
(2)  his  reference  to  bringing  alms  and  offerings. 

1 .  Paul's  confident  bearing  as  a  Roman  citizen  must 
have  attracted  the  notice  of  Felix.  Often  prisoners 
who  stood  before  him  whined  and  pleaded  after  the 
manner  of  the  papyrus  records  of  the  time.  Here  was 
a  man  of  Tarsus  who  had  had  the  courage  to  face  a 
mob  in  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  He  had  exhibited  the 
presence  of  mind  and  cleverness,  while  facing  the  death 
sentence  before  the  Sanhedrin,  calmly  to  precipitate  a 
discussion  about  the  resurrection  and  so  avoid  condemna- 
tion. He  now  stood  before  the  Roman  governor  proudly 
and  confidently  as  though  he  welcomed  the  chance  to 
talk  with  the  official  about  the  new  faith.  Felix  gave 
orders  to  show  Paul  ''indulgence."  The  statement, 
"Felix  was  terrified,"  perhaps  reflects  a  genuine  inner 
respect  which  Felix  conceived  for  this  man  and  his 
message. 

2 .  The  reference  in  Acts  24 : 1 7  to  the  bringing  of  alms 
is  the  only  mention  of  this  subject  in  the  Book  of  Acts. 
Its  special  significance  in  the  ears  of  FeHx  is  not  hard 
to  imagine.  This  man  Paul,  it  appeared,  had  friends 
throughout  the  world  who  were  wilHng  to  contribute 
money.  We  can  understand  at  least  one  motive  which 
prompted  Fehx  to  allow  his  "friends  to  minister  unto 
him"  (24:23),  hoping  that  "money  would  be  given  him 
by  Paul."  How  fine  it  would  be  to  have  a  collection 
gathered  in  Macedonia  and  Achaia  for  the  chief  "saint" 
in  the  palace  at  Caesarea ! 

The  two  years  which  Paul  spent  in  limited  freedom 
at  Caesarea  were  undoubtedly  full  of  influence  and 


196  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

activity.  Luke  was  not  with  him,  although  the  famihar 
pronoun  "we"  later  reappears  in  Acts  27:1  at  the 
departure  from  Caesarea.  Perhaps  Luke  had  sailed 
back  to  Macedonia  after  taking  his  part  in  delivering 
the  collection  at  Jerusalem.  Or  possibly  he  made  the 
acquaintance  of  apostles  in  Jerusalem  and  in  Galilee 
and  perhaps  even  at  Antioch,  inquiring  concerning  the 
life  and  deeds  of  Jesus.  Perhaps  he  collected  at  this 
time  some  small  part  of  the  materials  for  writing  his 
gospel.  Paul,  always  active,  would  spend  much  time 
in  consultation  with  the  "friends"  who  came  to  visit 
him.  Perhaps  sometimes  a  Christian  from  Galatia  or 
Asia  made  the  trip  to  Caesarea  in  order  to  bring  a 
gift  or  to  take  back  a  message  from  the  apostle.  Paul 
may  have  written  some  letters  to  his  churches.  We  know 
that  several  of  his  epistles  have  been  lost.  And  often 
during  those  two  years  he  must  have  walked  along  the 
masonry  of  the  castle  above  the  breaking  waves  and  have 
looked  longingly  westward  toward  his  beloved  churches 
in  Asia  and  Macedonia  and  Achaia  and  toward  the  yet 
unvisited  regions  of  Rome  and  of  Spain. 

3.      APPEAL  TO   THE  EMPEROR 

Paul  had  waited  long  and  hopefully  for  a  change  in 
the  governorship.  Any  governor  would  be  better  than 
Felix.  Paul  probably  expected  what  did  actually  hap- 
pen. The  emperor  demanded  the  resignation  of  Felix. 
In  fact  it  was  only  the  intervention  of  his  brother  Pallas, 
who  had  become  very  wealthy  and  influential  in  Rome, 
which  saved  FeHx  from  disgrace  and  banishment. 

The  date  of  the  recall  of  Felix  and  the  accession  of 
Festus  has  been  the  subject  of  much  discussion.     Our 


ARREST  AND  APPEAL  197 

reckoning,  based  on  the  Gallic  inscription,  would  date 
Paul's  arrival  in  Jerusalem  in  56.  This  agrees  inci- 
dentally with  the  statement  of  Paul  in  Acts  24:10  that 
Felix,  appointed  in  52,  had  at  that  time  been  "many- 
years"  in  office.  Paul's  imprisonment  lasted  two  years. 
The  accession  of  Festus,  then,  probably  occurred  in  58 
(see  also  Hastings,  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  art.  "Chro- 
nology"). 

When  Festus  entered  upon  his  duties  as  governor 
he  found  Paul's  case  pressing  for  attention.  The  Jews 
came  down  to  Caesarea  and  presented  their  charges. 
As  a  new  governor  he  felt  that  he  must  conciliate  the 
Jews  as  far  as  possible.  He  was  about  to  accede  to  their 
demands  that  Paul  be  taken  back  to  Jerusalem  when 
Paul  uttered  those  potent  words,  "  I  appeal  unto  Caesar." 

Paul  had  three  reasons  for  his  appeal  to  Rome.  In 
the  first  place  he  had  probably  been  secretly  informed 
of  the  plots  against  him  mentioned  in  Acts  25:3.  Per- 
haps the  information  did  not  come  this  time  from  his 
sister's  son,  but  from  some  one  of  the  friends  who  were 
allowed  to  visit  him  regularly.  In  the  second  place 
he  knew  the  danger  of  being  brought  to  trial  in  Jerusalem. 
He  knew  the  spirit  and  atmosphere  of  what  proved  to 
be  the  last  years  of  that  city.  He  knew  the  reports 
which  were  pouring  into  Jerusalem  from  the  Jewish 
communities  of  the  Dispersion  throughout  the  Roman 
Empire  that  the  new  Christian  faith  was  growing 
more  popular  than  Judaism,  winning  away  from  the 
synagogues  their  prospective  members  and  their  prestige. 

A  third  and  important  motive  in  Paul's  appeal  was 
his  impatient  desire  to  see  Rome  and  to  preach  his  gospel 
there.     "These  many  years"  he  had  wanted  tp  see  the 


198  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Imperial  City.  His  very  bonds  he  used  as  a  means  of 
reaching  his  greatest  goal.  And  the  plan  which  he  laid 
out  in  his  freedom  was  accomplished  in  his  imprison- 
ment. 

The  Caesar  to  whom  Paul  appealed  was  the  emperor 
Nero,  Nero's  fame  for  everything  except  justice  is 
well  known.  We  cannot  but  think  of  what  his  prede- 
cessor Claudius  or  even  Augustus  would  have  done. 
Paul  would  undoubtedly  have  been  brought  to  trial  soon 
after  reaching  Rome  and  have  been  set  at  liberty  on 
condition  that  he  should  not  return  to  Judea.  The 
early  years  of  Nero's  reign  were  not  like  the  later  ones, 
and  Paul  was  accorded  a  considerable  degree  of  fair 
treatment.  Yet  from  the  point  of  view  of  later  knowl- 
edge of  Nero  the  general  prospect  for  Paul  was  not  an 
auspicious  one. 

The  next  problem  which  confronted  Festus  was  his 
official  report  to  Rome  concerning  Paul.  In  this  he 
decided  to  ask  the  advice  of  King  Agrippa.  Agrippa 
was  a  grandson  of  Herod  the  Great.  His  domain  lay 
upon  the  other  side  of  Jordan,  stretching  northward 
toward  Damascus.  Although  Idumean  in  family,  his 
sympathies  were  very  broad  and  tolerant.  He  was  in 
fact  more  of  a  Roman  than  a  Jew.  He  ruled  until  thirty 
years  after  the  destruction  of  the  Jewish  capital  {ca.  50 
to  100  A.D.). 

It  was  a  matter  of  social  etiquette  for  Agrippa  to 
visit  the  new  governor,  Festus,  Since  Agrippa  was  a 
kind  of  mediator  between  the  Jews  and  the  Romans, 
understanding  the  prejudices  and  the  ideals  of  both, 
it  was  natural  that  Festus  should  take  advantage  of  his 
visit  to  secure  an  opinion  concerning  Paul, 


ARREST  AND  APPEAL  199 

The  defense  before  King  Agrippa  was  a  forceful 
appeal.  Paul  knew  that  Agrippa  admired  many  of  the 
Jewish  ideals.  He  also  knew  his  international  and 
universal  outlook.  It  is  not  at  all  impossible  that  Paul 
really  made  an  attempt  to  win  Agrippa  to  the  support 
of  his  gospel  (Acts  26:28).  He  certainly  did  succeed 
in  making  plain  that  his  persecution  was  due  solely  to 
the  narrow,  national  prejudice  of  the  Jews  against  the 
preaching  of  a  freer,  international  gospel. 

In  writing  his  report  to  Rome  Festus  probably  fol- 
lowed the  statement  of  Agrippa,  "This  man  might  have 
been  set  at  liberty  if  he  had  not  appealed  unto  Caesar, " 
for  both  on  the  voyage  and  at  Rome  Paul  was  accorded 
a  considerable  degree  of  freedom. 

4.      THE   VOYAGE  AND   SHIPWRECK 

The  account  of  the  voyage  from  Caesarea  is  written 
in  the  first  person,  probably  in  much  the  same  form  as 
Luke  noted  it  down  day  by  day  in  his  diary.  It  is  the 
most  detailed  narrative  of  its  length  in  the  Book  of  Acts. 
The  description  is,  in  fact,  unique  in  ancient  literature 
for  portraying  the  Kfe  of  sailors  on  their  long,  hazardous 
trips  without  engines  and  without  compass.  Luke's 
notes  would  compare  well  with  many  a  modern  journal 
of  an  ocean  voyage.  Along  with  Luke,  Paul  had  another 
companion,  Aristarchus,  the  same  comrade  who  was 
seized  by  the  mob  at  Ephesus,  whom  Paul  mentions  also 
in  Col.  4:10  as  his  "fellow-prisoner."  The  centurion, 
Julius,  was  apparently  a  man  of  good  Roman  qualities. 
It  was  an  honor  to  belong  to  the  "Augustan"  band. 

Because  the  strong  winds  came  from  the  northeast, 
the  usual  route  taken  by  westbound  vessels  from  Egypt 


200  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

or  Palestine  lay  at  first  northward  along  the  coast  to 
Asia  Minor  and  then  westward.  After  the  stop  at  Sidon, 
where  JuKus  allowed  Paul  to  visit  the  Christian  com- 
munity, the  ship  made  a  short  cut  across  the  upper 
corner  of  the  Mediterranean,  keeping  under  the  lee  of 
the  island  of  Cyprus.  Reaching  the  coast  at  Myra,  the 
centurion  found  a  vessel  which  was  bound  directly  for 
Italy.  It  had  a  cargo  of  wheat  from  Alexandria.  Be- 
sides its  cargo  it  carried  of  crew  and  passengers  276  men. 
On  leaving  Myra  the  wind  made  it  easier  and  safer  to  head 
southwest  toward  Crete  than  to  attempt  to  hold  against 
the  wind  through  the  rocky  islands  of  the  Aegean. 

The  vessel,  Luke  thinks,  ought  to  have  spent  the 
winter  in  the  first  sheltered  harbor  on  the  southern  coast 
of  Crete  because  the  season  was  getting  late  for  sailing. 
The  Fast  of  the  Day  of  Atonement,  which  marked  the 
time  when  the  days  and  nights  were  equal,  had  already 
gone  by.  Paul's  advice  against  proceeding  farther  than 
Fair  Havens  was  based  upon  long  experience.  ''Three 
times  I  suffered  shipwreck.  A  night  and  a  day  have  I 
been  in  the  deep"  (II  Cor.  11:25).  ^^t  seldom  has 
the  voice  of  a  prophet  been  heeded  "when  the  south 
wind  blew  softly."  They  decided  upon  one  more  run 
to  the  next  harbor. 

For  two  weeks  they  saw  neither  sun  by  day  nor  stars 
by  night.  For  two  weeks  they  sailed  closely  reefed  on  a 
starboard  tack,  hoping  against  hope  that  the  northeaster 
would  not  drive  them  on  the  coast  of  Africa.  For  two 
weeks  the  only  calm  in  the  tempest  was  Paul's  reassuring 
way  of  saying  "Fear  not." 

The  beach  where  the  ship  struck  on  the  island  of 
Malta  about  sixty  miles  south  of  Sicily  still  bears  the 


ARREST  AND  APPEAL  201 

name  "St.  Paul's  Bay."  It  was  not  an  especially 
pleasant  place  to  pass  the  winter.  Luke's  diary  reflects 
the  rising  spirits  of  the  party  when  after  three  months 
on  the  island  they  reached  the  beautiful  Bay  of  Naples 
and  amid  the  glory  of  an  Italian  spring  landed  at  Puteoli. 
The  welcome  which  the  brethren  here  accorded  to 
Paul,  whom  they  had  most  of  them  probably  never  seen, 
and  the  warmth  with  which  they  "entreated"  him  to 
tarry  with  them  seven  days  give  a  suggestive  picture  of 
the  Christian  brotherhood  which  was  everywhere  spread- 
ing through  the  Roman  world.  These  Christians  would 
minister  to  his  wants  and  listen  eagerly  as  he  rehearsed 
the  adventures  of  his  last  months  and  years.  Then  they 
must  have  sent  messengers  on  ahead  to  announce  Paul's 
arrival  to  the  Christian  circle  at  Rome;  for  Paul  and  his 
party,  setting  out  upon  the  130-mile  journey  to  the 
Imperial  City,  were  again  rejoiced  at  finding  that  Chris- 
tian delegates  had  come  a  third  of  the  way  to  meet  them. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READING 

1.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  pp.  303-43. 

2.  Kent,  Work  and  Teachings  of  the  Apostles,  pp.  205-9;   216-20. 

3.  Gilbert,  Student's  Life  of  Paul,  pp.  175-215. 

4.  Conybeare  and  Howson,  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  chaps, 
xxi-xxiii. 

5.  Farrar,  Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  chaps,  xl,  xllii,  xliv. 

6.  Bible  for  Home  and  School,  "Acts,"  pp.  201-53. 

7.  McGiffert,  A   History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age, 
pp.  338-62. 

8.  Cone,  Paul  the  Alan,  the  Missionary,  and  the  Teacher,  pp.  135- 
38;   143-44. 

9.  Bacon,  The  Story  of  St.  Paul,  pp.  186-214. 


CHAPTER  XII 

AT  ROME 

1.  Two  Years  in  Rome 

Acts  28:16-31 

2.  The  Letter  to  the  Philippians 

Read  Philippians  entire 

3.  Letters  to  Philemon,  to  the  Colossians,  and  to  the  Ephesians 

Read  Philemon,  Colossians,  and  Ephesians 

4.  The  End  of  the  Fight 

Rom.  15:24-28;  I  Tim.  1:1-3;  Titus  1:1-5;  3- 12,  13; 
II  Tim.  i:  12;  4: 1-22 

5.  Paul's  Place  in  Christianity 

I.      TWO   YEARS   IN  ROME 

The  only  incident  which  Luke  mentions  with  any 
fulness  in  the  account  of  Paul's  two  years  in  Rome  was 
his  meeting  once  and  again  with  the  non-Christian  Jews. 
It  was  Paul's  custom  on  arriving  in  a  city  to  plead  first 
with  the  Jews.  And  here  where  the  Jewish  colony  was 
so  strong  he  undoubtedly  made  very  special  effort  to 
win  them  over  to  a  receptive  attitude  toward  Christian- 
ity. As  these  Jews  had  "neither  received  letters  from 
Judea"  nor  any  verbal  report  against  Paul,  he  found 
at  the  first  meeting  some  ground  for  hope  of  success. 
But  the  second  meeting  dispelled  it.  After  winning 
only  a  few  converts  he  turned  to  work  among  the  Gen- 
tiles. 

His  conduct  of  himself  before  Festus  and  before 
Agrippa  had,  as  stated,  probably  occasioned  a  favorable 
report  of  his  case  to  Rome.     Perhaps  also  the  personal 


AT  ROME  203 

word  of  the  centurion,  who  had  been  impressed  by  Paul's 
bearing  during  the  voyage  and  shipwreck,  helped  to 
secure  for  him  some  measure  of  freedom.  For  two  years, 
in  his  own  hired  dwelling,  guarded  only  by  a  soldier,  he 
probably  had  no  small  part  in  building  up  that  church 
which  afterward  became  the  leading  Christian  com- 
munity of  the  world. 

The  philosopher  Seneca  was  living  in  Rome  at  this 
same  time.  Seneca  and  Paul  were  alike  in  that  they 
both  suffered  violent  death  under  Nero  in  the  cause  of 
righteousness.  But  while  Seneca  was  the  personal 
friend  of  Nero,  Paul  was  the  friend  of  the  poor.  To 
reform  Nero  turned  out  to  be  a  hopeless  task.  But  to 
bring  the  spirit  of  God  into  the  homes  and  lives  of  the 
people  was  Paul's  successful  and  fruitful  work.  Chris- 
tians of  the  early  centuries  delighted  in  imagining  that 
Paul  and  Seneca  were  acquainted  with  each  other  and 
that  they  wrote  letters  to  each  other.  But  the  so-called 
correspondence  of  Paul  and  Seneca  is  certainly  fictitious. 

One  who  visits  Rome  today  and  travels  mile  after  mile 
through  the  imderground  passages  of  the  catacombs  can 
easily  picture  the  lively  Christian  activity  of  the  thou- 
sands of  converts  who  used  these  passages  in  the  second 
and  following  centuries.  Here  upon  the  walls  in  hun- 
dreds of  places  they  painted  Old  Testament  stories,  from 
the  Garden  of  Eden  to  the  adventure  of  Jonah  and  the 
fish.  Beside  them  they  painted  the  story  of  the  birth 
of  Jesus,  the  feeding  of  the  multitude,  the  mystic  sym- 
bol of  the  fish,  and  a  host  of  others.  It  is  all  suggestive, 
too,  of  the  nature  of  Paul's  activity.  It  was  hidden  out 
of  sight,  but  its  extent  and  its  ramifications  were  almost 
endless.    The  pictures  which  Paul  painted  of  triumph 


204  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

over  sin,  of  the  birth  of  a  new  life,  of  the  giving  of  the 
word  to  hungry  souls,  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God 
and  Savior  of  the  world — these  pictures  must  have 
lighted  up  and  beautified  many  of  the  long  and  dreary 
stretches  of  human  existence  in  the  under  world  of  Rome. 

2.      THE   LETTER   TO   THE  PHILIPPIANS 

One  privilege  allowed  Paul  in  his  protracted  imprison- 
ment was  the  writing  and  receiving  of  letters.  While  he 
could  not  visit  his  churches  in  Macedonia,  or  Asia,  he 
could  send  personal  messages  as  well  as  special  warnings 
against  perversions  of  the  gospel.  He  could  receive 
back  word  as  to  the  progress  of  his  converts  and  perhaps 
sometimes  be  pleasantly  surprised  by  the  arrival  of  a 
gift  of  money  or  other  token  of  loyalty. 

One  bountiful  gift  from  the  Philippians  was  very 
much  appreciated.  The  letter  to  the  Philippians,  in 
which  he  thanks  them  for  the  gift,  was  written  while  in 
''bonds"  (i :  13,  17).  Most  scholars  hold  that  the  refer- 
ence is  to  the  imprisonment  in  Rome  (cf.  i :  13  and  4:22). 
As  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter,  this  was  the  fourth 
gift  received  by  Paul  from  Philippi.  The  first  and 
second  are  mentioned  in  Phil.  4: 16;  the  third  in  II  Cor. 
11:9  (cf.  Phil.  4:15).  Upon  the  receipt  of  each  of  the 
four  gifts  Paul  had  undoubtedly  sent  a  note  of  thanks. 
The  present  letter  may  have  been  a  fifth  letter,  since 
it  is  not  primarily  a  letter  of  thanks.  The  fourth  gift 
had  arrived  long  before.  A  severe  illness  of  the  bearer 
of  the  gift  had  intervened.  Epaphroditus  had  fallen 
sick  "nigh  unto  death"  (2:27).  This  man  had  perhaps 
been  sent  in  the  idea  that  he  would  stay  indefinitely  with 
Paul  as  a  sort  of  assistant.     But  it  seemed  best  on 


AT  ROME  205 

account  of  his  illness  that  he  should  return  home.  Our 
Philippians  is  the  testimonial  which  he  took  home 
with  him. 

Other  indications  of  the  interchange  of  news  arc  not 
lacking.  The  Philippians  had  word,  perhaps  from 
Paul  himself,  that  Epaphroditus  had  fallen  sick.  Then 
Epaphroditus  had  heard  that  they  had  heard  of  his 
illness.  His  anxiety  over  their  anxiety  is  expressed  in 
Phil.  2 :  26. 

It  is  not  impossible  that  our  present  Philippians  con- 
tains portions  of  more  than  one  of  the  several  letters. 
The  change  of  theme  is  very  sudden  in  3 : 2.  The  phrase, 
"finally,  my  brethren,"  is  in  the  middle  of  the  letter 
(3:  i)  as  we  now  have  it,  and  a  similar  phrase,  "finally, 
brethren,"  occurs  again  in  4 : 8.  Polycarp,  writing  to  the 
Philippians  (chap.  3)  in  the  early  part  of  the  second 
century,  refers  to  the  "epistles"  of  Paul  to  the  Philip- 
pians. While  the  plural  in  Greek  did  not  universally 
designate  separate  letters,  i.e.,  epistles,  the  natural 
understanding  of  the  passage  creates  a  probability  that 
Polycarp  had  access  to  more  than  one. 

After  his  greeting  and  expression  of  gratitude  for  their 
loyalty  to  the  gospel  (i :  i-i  i),  Paul  gives  the  Philippians 
news  about  himself  (1:12-26)  and  pleads  with  them  to 
live  worthily  of  Christ  (i :  27 — 2 :  18).  He  hopes  to  send 
Timothy  to  them  and  before  long  to  come  himself;  at 
present  he  is  sending  Epaphroditus,  whose  illness  has 
been  very  severe  (2:19-30).  Beginning  his  concluding 
practical  exhortations  (3:1),  he  suddenly  changes  the 
subject  to  a  warning  against  the  Judaizers  (3 : 2-1 1)  and 
against  an  antinomian  teaching  that  since  salvation  is 
already  assured  there  is  no  need  of  active  Christian 


2o6  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

effort  or  morality  (3 :  12 — 4:1).  After  renewed  conclud- 
ing exhortations  (4:2-9)  he  expresses  warm-hearted 
thanks  for  the  gift  received  at  the  hand  of  Epaphroditus 
(4:10-20)  and  closes  with  salutations  and  a  benediction 
(4:21-23). 

While  the  letter  reflects  no  crisis  such  as  developed 
among  the  Galatian  churches  or  at  Corinth,  it  is  none 
the  less  interesting.  Because  of  the  very  fact  that  it  is 
an  expression  of  regard  sent  to  the  most  loyal  of  his 
churches  it  has  a  richness  and  a  beauty  which  throw 
welcome  light  upon  the  more  personal  side  of  Paul's 
character  and  Christian  teaching. 

3,      LETTERS   TO  PHILEMON,   TO   THE   COLOSSIANS, 
AND   TO   THE   EPHESL\NS 

On  one  occasion  Paul  dispatched  as  many  as  three 
letters  together.  When  Philemon  (especially  vs.  10)  is 
read  along  with  Colossians  (especially  4:9)  it  appears  at 
once  that  both  letters  were  sent  at  the  same  time  in 
company  with  Onesimus.  Furthermore,  a  comparison 
of  Col.  4:7  with  Eph.  6:21  joins  these  two  letters 
together,  because  Tychicus  is  mentioned  as  accompany- 
ing each;  and  this  indication  is  borne  out  by  the  simi- 
larity of  the  two  in  content  and  in  the  situations 
portrayed  both  of  writer  and  readers. 

All  three  letters  mention  Paul's  bonds  (Philem.  i,  13; 
Col.  4:18;  Eph.  3:1;  4:1).  While  it  is  possible  that  in 
case  Paul  was  imprisoned  in  Ephesus  these  letters  as 
well  as  Philippians  may  have  been  written  from  that 
city,  the  almost  universal  opinion  of  scholars  points  to 
the  Roman  imprisonment  as  the  time  and  place  of 
writing. 


AT  ROME  207 

1.  The  letter  to  Philemon  was  a  purely  personal  note. 
Philemon  was  a  resident  of  Colossae,  evidently  a  man 
of  some  ability  and  influence,  for  he  not  only  owned 
slaves  but  had  offered  his  home  as  a  meeting-place  for 
the  church  at  Colossae.  Onesimus,  one  of  his  slaves, 
had  run  away.  Paul  was  sending  him  back.  The  name 
Onesimus  means  "a  profi.table  one."  In  his  note  Paul 
questions  whether  this  runaway  slave  was  really  "a 
profitable  one"  (vs.  11). 

Paul  returned  the  slave  as  a  converted  man,  who  had 
once  more  become  a  "profitable"  servant,  promising 
to  pay  Philemon  whatever  had  been  stolen.  When 
Philemon  received  the  note  and  read  Paul's  request 
that  he  treat  Onesimus  "no  longer  as  a  bondservant, 
but  ....  a  brother  beloved,"  he  no  doubt  hesitated 
somewhat  at  this  drastic  Christian  teaching.  But  he 
would  feel  the  honor  of  receiving  a  note  from  Paul 
written  with  his  "own  hand"  (vs.  19)  and  would  be 
gratified  at  the  hope  which  Paul  held  out  of  a  personal 
visit  in  the  no  distant  future  (vs.  22). 

2.  Philemon's  house  at  Colossae  was  used  as  a 
meeting-place  for  a  Christian  church  (Philem.,  vs.  2). 
When  Paul  sent  the  personal  note  he  accompanied  it 
with  a  letter  to  be  read  to  the  church  and  to  all  Chris- 
tians at  Colossae.  Paul  had  heard  of  teachings  which 
were  confusing  and  unsettling  them  in  their  faith. 
Because  of  the  seriousness  of  the  situation  Paul  sent 
also  a  personal  representative  and  fellow-worker, 
Tychicus  (Col.  4:7).  The  probable  source  of  Paul's 
information  was  Epaphras,  himself  a  Colossian,  who 
was  with  Paul  when  he  wrote.  Epaphras  had  been  a 
"  fellow-servant "  with  Paul  probably  at  Ephesus  and  had 


2o8  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

subsequently  preached  to  the  Colossians  (1:6,7).  While 
writing,  Paul  may  have  asked  him  frequent  questions 
in  order  to  obtain  accurate  information  for  use  in  his 
letter. 

The  teachings  which  were  perverting  the  gospel  in 
Colossae  were  not  unrelated  to  the  geographical  loca- 
tion of  the  city  in  the  interior  of  the  province  of  Asia 
on  the  highway  between  eastern  and  western  civiliza- 
tion and  thought.  They  were  related  in  general  to  the 
mystery-religions,  and  in  particular  to  the  mystic  com- 
munion with  heavenly  powers,  which  was  a  fundamental 
doctrine  of  those  cults.  The  Colossian  Christians  were 
being  led  into  the  idea  that,  in  the  quest  of  this  mystic 
communion,  the  "fulness"  of  religious  experience,  i.e., 
the  sense  of  being  filled  with  divine  power,  was  to  be 
found  in  communion,  not  merely  with  Christ,  but  with 
other  heavenly  powers  as  great  as,  perhaps  greater  than, 
Christ. 

Along  with  the  teaching  of  mystic  communion  were 
associated  certain  ascetic  practices.  "Handle  not,  nor 
taste,  nor  touch"  are  "ordinances "  which  had  their  place 
in  the  preparatory  rites  of  the  mystery-religions  as 
described  in  chapter  i  of  this  volume.  The  situation  was 
further  complicated  by  the  presence  of  Judaizing  tend- 
encies, some  of  which  may  have  been  connected  with  the 
ascetic  teachings.  Circumcision,  observance  of  Jewish 
Sabbaths,  of  new  moons,  of  Jewish  feasts,  of  seasons  of 
fasting,  all  find  reference  in  the  epistle, 

Paul's  plan  of  procedure  was  not  to  attack  all  these 
ideas  as  worthless  and  as  opposed  to  Christian  faith. 
He  adopted  the  attitude  of  conciliation.  From  their 
point  of  view  and,  so  far  as  possible,  in  their  language 


AT  ROME  209 

and  thought  world,  he  interpreted  to  the  Colossians 
the  supreme  greatness  of  Christ.  Through  all  the 
centuries  Christianity  has  come  in  contact  with  other 
thought  movements,  both  philosophical  and  religious, 
and  has  come  to  terms  with  them,  not  by  simply  rejecting 
or  accepting,  but  by  careful  selection  and  interpretation 
and  adjustment. 

Using  their  vocabulary  Paul  tells  the  Colossians  that 
in  Christ  "dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  godhead 
bodily."  In  regard  to  circumcision  he  declares  that 
in  Christ  they  "were  also  circumcised  with  a  circum- 
cision not  made  with  hands."  In  regard  to  the  attract- 
ive symbolic  lustrations  of  the  mystery-religions  (see 
chapter  i  of  this  volume)  he  explains  that  in  Christian 
baptism  they  were  buried  with  Christ  and  raised  with 
him  through  faith.  Observances  of  feasts  and  new 
moons  are  a  shadow  of  Christian  truth.  In  Christ 
everything  and  every  people  find  completion  and  unity. 
This  is  the  perfect  "mystery."  In  Christ  "are  all  the 
treasures  of  wisdom."  The  Greek  has  his  "philosophy" 
and  the  Jew  "circumcision";  but  in  Christ  "there  can- 
not be  Greek  and  Jew,  circumcision  and  uncircum- 
cision,  Barbarian,  Scythian,  bondman,  freeman;  but 
Christ  is  all  and  in  all." 

In  writing  the  letter  Paul  begins  after  the  salutation 
(Col.  1:1,  2)  to  win  his  readers  by  personal  words  of 
thanks  (1:3-8)  and  of  prayer  for  their  fuller  understand- 
ing of  Christ's  supreme  place  (1:9-23),  and  by  recount- 
ing his  own  sufferings  for  the  gospel  (1:24-29)  and  his 
particular  concern  for  their  welfare  (2:1-7).  He  then 
gives  his  central  message,  a  warning  against  philo- 
sophical teachings  and  Judaizing  tendencies  which  would 


2IO  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

rob  them  of  the  highest  Christian  faith  (2:8-23).  He 
applies  his  message  in  practical  exhortations  to  live  the 
higher  life  in  the  various  phases  of  their  daily  conduct 
(3:1 — 4:6).  His  concluding  page  is  full  of  interesting 
personal  references  to  his  fellow- workers  (4:7-18). 

Tychicus  (4:7)  is  the  bearer  of  this  letter  and  of 
Ephesians  (6:21).  The  description  of  Onesimus  (4:9) 
as  ''one  of  you"  establishes  the  fact  that  Philemon,  his 
master,  lived  at  Colossae  and  incidentally  suggests  the 
possibility  that  Onesimus  as  servant  in  the  house  where 
the  Christians  met  may  have  overheard  such  phrases 
as  "freedom  from  bondage"  and  "redeemed  by  Christ." 
In  his  simplicity  of  mind  he  may  have  been  led  to 
think  that  Paul,  the  great  apostle  of  Christ,  could  some- 
how liberate  him  from  slavery.  Aristarchus,  Mark, 
Epaphras,  Luke  are  all  familiar  to  us  (cf.  also  Philem., 
vs.  23,  24).  Archippus  (4:17;  cf.  Philem.,  vs.  2)  was  evi- 
dently the  leader  of  the  church  in  Philemon's  home  and 
may  have  been  Philemon's  son. 

Of  especial  interest  is  Paul's  word,  Col.  4: 16,  "When 
this  epistle  hath  been  read  among  you,  cause  that  it  be 
read  also  in  the  church  of  the  Laodiceans;  and  that  ye 
also  read  the  epistle  from  Laodicea."  Colossae  was 
about  six  miles  away.  It  was  not  unnatural  that  Paul 
should  write  two  similar  letters  to  these  two  places  at 
the  same  time.  But  what  has  become  of  the  letter  to 
the  Laodiceans  ? 

3.  In  Ephesians  the  first  fact  which  strikes  the  atten- 
tion of  the  reader  is  that  the  phrase  "at  Ephesus"  is 
uncertain.  It  is  not  found  in  the  two  oldest  manu- 
scripts. Moreover,  although  Paul  spent  longer  in 
Ephesus  than  anywhere  else,  this  letter  is  quite  imper- 


AT  ROME  211 

sonal  and  distant  in  tone.  Some  expressions  seem  to 
imply  that  he  was  writing  to  strangers  whom  he  had 
never  seen.  For  example,  he  speaks  in  Eph.  1:15  in  a 
very  distant  way  of  "having  heard  of  the  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  which  is  among  you"  (cf.  also  3:2).  It  is 
quite  possible  that  this  letter  is  the  one  mentioned  in 
Col.  4:16  as  the  Laodicean  letter.  Marcion  in  the 
second  century  had  a  letter  of  Paul  "to  the  Laodiceans" 
in  his  canon,  which  apparently  was  in  the  place  of  our 
Ephesians.     Origen  mentions  it  also. 

It  is  not  hard  to  understand  how  the  name  Ephesians 
came  to  be  attached  to  a  letter  sent  to  Laodicea.  Per- 
haps Paul  wished  it  sent,  not  only  from  Laodicea  to 
Colossae,  as  he  requested  in  Col.  4: 16,  but  also  to  other 
churches  in  Asia.  Its  impersonal  character  accords  well 
with  the  idea  that  it  was  a  circular  epistle.  In  this  case 
it  would  naturally  come  at  length  to  Ephesus,  the  capital, 
and  be  kept  there.  A  later  collector  finding  it  there 
might  conclude  it  was  written  to  the  Ephesians,  or  at 
least  might  consider  that  if  it  was  meant  for  several 
churches  it  had  a  right  to  be  called  by  the  name  of  the 
chief  church  in  Asia. 

The  letter  is  somewhat  similar  to  Colossians  in 
general  structure  and  almost  identical  in  many  of  its 
exhortations  (cf.  especially  Eph.  5:22 — 6:9  with  Col. 
3 :  18 — ^4:1).  After  the  expression  of  praise  and  thanks- 
giving (chap,  i)  he  contrasts  their  earlier  im-Christian 
state  with  the  present  building  up  of  all  beHevers  into  one 
great  temple,  one  body  in  Christ  (chap.  2).  Then  he 
describes  the  "mystery"  of  Christ  and  prays  that  in 
him  they  may  find  the  "fulness"  of  God  which  they  seek 
(chap.  3).    He  exhorts  them  to  leave  their  old  manner 


212  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

of  life  with  its  various  evils  (chap.  4)  and  to  live 
in  a  sober  Christian  way  each  in  his  own  place 
(chaps.  5,  6). 

The  fact  that  Ephesians  is  in  many  ways  so  similar 
to  the  letter  to  Colossae  has  led  many  to  doubt  its 
genuineness,  and  to  suppose  that  some  later  writer 
familiar  with  Asia  Minor's  philosophical  and  religious 
teachings  composed  the  letter,  using  Colossians  as  a 
model.  But  there  is  really  no  reason  why  Paul  should 
not  have  sent  two  similar  letters  at  the  same  time  to 
neighboring  churches.  There  are  some  scholars  who 
question  whether  both  letters  are  not  quite  foreign  to 
Paul's  style.  It  is  true  that  a  vocabulary  is  here  used 
which  is  not  found  elsewhere  in  Paul.  But  the  ideas 
and  contentions  are  genuinely  Pauline,  and  it  is  not  at 
all  impossible  to  believe  that  Paul  could  thus  express 
himself  in  the  language  and  thought  world  of  those 
whom  he  wished  to  win. 

Ephesians  has  a  broader  point  of  view  than  Colos- 
sians. The  Colossian  perversion  of  the  gospel  serves 
in  Ephesians  only  as  a  point  of  departure  for  a  general 
warning  against  any  teaching  which  does  not  recognize 
the  supreme  majesty  of  Christ.  Controversies  and 
false  doctrines  are  almost  forgotten  as  Paul  unfolds  the 
eternal  plan  of  God  through  all  the  ages  to  consummate 
all  things  in  Christ.  That  all  men  may  have  "the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Christ,"  may  "know  the  love 
of  Christ  which  passeth  knowledge,"  "may  be  filled  unto 
all  the  fulness  of  God"— this  is  Paul's  prayer.  The 
great  international  company  of  believers  is  the  body  of 
Christ,  through  whom  God  has  from  all  eternity  pur- 
posed to  reveal  his  gloriqus  salvation. 


AT  ROME  213 


THE   END   OF   THE   FIGHT 


Did  Paul  ever  realize  his  project  of  a  trip  to  Spain 
(Rom.  15 :  24)  ?  We  have  no  account  of  the  journey  nor 
of  any  further  experiences  after  the  two  years  in  Rome. 
Many  scholars  conclude  from  the  ominous  silence  of 
Acts  that  Paul  did  not  survive  his  imprisonment.  We 
ought  not,  however,  to  accept  this  conclusion  without 
noting  some  of  the  facts  which  point  to  a  further  career 
of  activity. 

1.  The  lively  hope  which  Paul  expresses  in  Rom., 
chap.  15,  would  not  by  itself  constitute  any  argument. 
But  in  the  repeated  representations  of  the  Book  of  Acts 
that  Paul  was  treated  with  a  considerable  degree  of 
justice  by  the  Roman  authorities  we  are  rather  definitely 
led  to  expect  that  he  was  able  to  carry  out  his  proposed 
journey. 

2.  Clement  of  Rome,  who  wrote  an  epistle  to  the 
Corinthian  church  before  the  close  of  the  first  century, 
speaks  in  no  uncertain  terms  of  Paul  as  "having  taught 
righteousness  unto  the  whole  world  and  having  reached 
the  farthest  bounds  of  the  West."  Clement  must  have 
himself  been  able  to  remember  Paul's  closing  years,  or 
at  least  to  have  talked  with  those  who  had  known  Paul. 
To  say  that  Clement's  phrase,  "farthest  bounds  of  the 
West'"  (Clement,  I  Cor.,  chap.  5),  means  the  center  of 
the  world,  where  Clement  lived  and  wrote,  sounds  like 
juggling  with  words. 

3.  In  Acts  I :  i  Luke  refers  to  his  gospel  as  the  "first " 
(not  former)  treatise,  suggesting,  although  not  neces- 
sarily implying,  that  he  intended  to  write  at  least  three 

'  t6  Tepfxa  t^j  5y(r«ws. 


214  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

books.  This  third  work  of  Luke  has  been  the  subject 
of  much  speculation.  It  would  account  for  the  abrupt 
ending  of  the  Book  of  Acts.  It  would  accord  in  general 
with  the  statement  of  Eusebius  that  Paul  died  in  the 
thirteenth  year  of  Nero,  and  also  with  his  other  state- 
ment that  Paul  died  in  the  Neronian  persecution. 

4.  The  argument  from  the  Pastoral  Epistles  has 
little  weight  because  scholars  have  doubted  their  genuine- 
ness in  whole  or  in  part.  But  in  any  case  they  add  their 
evidence  such  as  it  is ;  for  a  later  writer  composing  these 
epistles  would  not  inject  them  into  a  situation  of  the 
apostle  which  he  believed  never  existed.  They  at  least 
reflect  an  early  Christian  tradition  that  Paul  was  released 
from  the  first  Roman  imprisonment  (cf.  especially 
II  Tim.  4:16,  17). 

5.  Finally  the  Muratorian  Canon  adds  its  evidence. 
This  is  a  list  of  New  Testament  books  compiled  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  second  century.  In  commenting  on 
the  Book  of  Acts  this  canon  remarks  on  the  fact  that  the 
book  does  not  record  the  death  of  Peter  and  the  journey 
of  Paul  from  Rome  to  Spain.  There  can  be  httle  doubt 
that  the  author  regarded  Paul's  journey  to  Spain  as 
a  historical  fact. 

If  Luke  did  write  a  third  book — and  it  is  not  impos- 
sible to  understand  the  Muratorian  Canon  as  referring 
to  this  third  work — he  perhaps,  on  the  analogy  of  Acts, 
devoted  the  first  half  of  it  to  the  further  experiences  of 
Jewish  Christian  leaders,  including  the  martyrdom  of 
Peter,  and  the  second  half  to  further  journeys  of  Paul 
and  to  his  martyrdom. 

On  the  supposition  that  the  Pastoral  Epistles  are 
genuine  the  usual  reconstruction  of  these  later  journeys 


AT  ROME  215 

of  Paul  is  somewhat  as  follows:  Paul  is  acquitted  at 
Rome  perhaps  on  condition  that  he  remain  an  exile  from 
Judea.  He  embarks  for  Spain.  He  spends  some  time 
planting  the  gospel  along  the  coast.  He  then  returns 
to  visit  his  earlier  churches.  He  pays  the  promised 
visit  to  Philemon.  He  leaves  Timothy  in  charge  at 
Ephesus.  Visits  Macedonia.  Writes  I  Timothy.  Leaves 
Macedonia  to  preach  in  Crete,  stopping  at  Troas  and 
Miletus  on  the  way.  He  plants  the  gospel  in  Crete. 
Leaving  Titus  in  charge  there  he  revisits  Corinth,  where 
he  writes  a  letter  to  Titus.  From  Corinth  he  makes  a 
tour  overland  northward  to  Nicopolis,  where  his  enemies 
finally  secure  his  arrest.  He  is  taken  to  Rome,  where  he 
writes  II  Timothy  shortly  before  his  death. 

But  the  lack  of  direct  information  and  the  question- 
ing of  the  genuineness  of  at  least  parts  of  the  Pastoral 
Epistles  are  serious  objections  to  any  assertion  of 
probability  in  such  a  reconstruction.  Its  chief  support 
is  in  the  statement  of  Clement  of  Rome  mentioned 
above. 

In  regard  to  the  place  and  approximate  date  of  the 
apostle's  death  there  is,  however,  no  real  question. 
That  he  died  in  Rome  and  during  the  reign  of  Nero, 
probably  not  long  after  61  a.d.,  we  may  regard  as 
practically  certain.  Clement  of  Rome  and  Caius  of 
Rome  both  speak  of  his  martyrdom  there.  Both  Origen 
and  Eusebius  place  his  death  at  Rome  and  under  Nero. 
Eusebius  says  that  he  was  beheaded. 

That  "his  eye  was  not  dim  nor  his  natural  force 
abated"  we  may  be  sure.  The  words  of  II  Tim.  4: 7,  8 
are  an  expression  of  the  spirit  which  we  may  be  sure  he 
maintained  to  the  very  end:   "I  have  fought  the  good 


2i6  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

fight,  I  have  finished  the  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith: 
henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  the  crown  of  righteous- 
ness, which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  to 
me  at  that  day;  and  not  to  me  only,  but  also  to  all  them 
that  have  loved  his  appearing." 

.  5.    Paul's  place  in  christlanity 

/ 

At  Paul's  conversion  Christianity  was  a  Jewish  sect. 

At  his  death  it  was  a  world-religion.  While  there  were 
others  who  carried  the  gospel  among  the  nations,  their 
work  is  almost  lost  to  sight  beside  the  brighter  glory  of 
Paul's  achievement.  Somewhat  as  America  has  enlarged 
her  hope  of  a  great  ideal  commonwealth  and  has  realized 
her  place  among  the  nations,  so  through  Paul's  powerful 
leadership  the  early  Christian  movement  developed  into 
an  international  brotherhood.  He  led  the  Christian 
religion  far  toward  the  day  when  it  was  officially  recog- 
nized as  the  supreme  religion  of  the  empire. 

His  power  lay  partly  in  the  message  with  which  he 
started  and  partly  in  the  breadth  and  strength  of  per- 
sonality with  which  he  interpreted  and  universalized  his 
message. 

The  background  or  basis  of  his  message  was  the 
Jewish  religion  of  the  Old  Testament.  Paul  taught  the 
doctrine  of  one  God,  the  Father.  His  positive  affirma- 
tion that  there  is  but  one  God  was  in  sharp  contrast  to 
the  hesitating  and  philosophical  monotheism  of  Stoicism, 
the  equally  hesitant  polytheism  of  Epicureanism,  the 
decadent  polytheism  of  the  state  religions,  and  the  inclu- 
sive pantheon  of  the  mystery-religions.  For  Paul  all 
these  and  the  older  henotheism  of  the  Jews  were  left 
behind,  their  place  being  taken  by  one  God,  who  made 


AT  ROME  217 

heaven  and  earth  and  directs  all  human  affairs  (I  Thess. 
1:9,  10;  I  Cor.  8:6,  etc.).  His  passionate  monotheism 
was  a  flame  as  intense  as  that  in  which  the  sarcasm  of 
Isaiah  (4o:i8ff. ;  44:12-20)  burns  up  idolatrous  wor- 
ship. 

This  Jewish  monotheism  Paul  made  ahve  through  his 
Christian  affirmation  of  the  one  Revealer  of  God,  Jesus, 
the  risen  Son  of  God,  the  Christ.  Originally  the  concep- 
tion of  messiahship  was  Jewish.  But  Paul  interpreted 
and  enlarged  its  significance.  In  Greek  language  and 
thought  forms  he  pictured  the  Crucified,  the  Revealer  of 
God's  love,  risen  to  the  right  hand  of  God,  acting  as 
mediator  between  God  and  man,  dwelling  through  his 
spirit  in  men  and  raising  them  with  him  into  a  divine 
life  with  God.  This  was  the  way  of  salvation  for  which 
men  and  women  were  looking.  Through  Paul's  preach- 
ing they  were  able  to  lay  hold  upon  Christ,  to  rise  into  a 
newness  of  Hfe,  £,nd  to  look  eagerly  for  a  future  fuller 
revelation  of  God  in  human  affairs. 

The  real  key  which  unlocked  the  gates  of  the  early 
Christian  tide  of  evangeHsm  was  Paul's  powerful  and 
practical  universalism.  His  love  of  totality  made 
henotheism  monotheism,  made  God's  love  for  Israel  a 
love  for  a  spiritual  Israel  composed  of  people  of  every 
nation.  He  declared  that  religion  is  not  a  matter  of 
ceremonial  or  legalistic  observances.  Over  against  the 
Jewish  legal  system  he  stood  for  a  religion  of  the  spirit. 
Even  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper  and  Christian 
observances  were  not  ceremonies  which  procured  merit 
before  God  but  helps  to  entering  into  fellowship  with 
Christ  and  being  filled  with  his  spirit.  This  spirit 
was  the  controlHng  power  in  his  Ufe.     In  place  of  a 


2i8  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Jewish  legalistic  commonwealth  he  founded  the  spiritual 
democracy  of  self-legislating  love. 

In  proclaiming  the  messianic  kingdom  so  familiar 
to  the  synagogue  worshipers,  the  distinctive  note  which 
he  introduced  along  with  the  messiahship  of  Jesus  was  the 
broader,  international  aspect  of  the  coming  order.  He 
did  not  paint  the  Jews  as  sole  possessors  of  divine  revela- 
tion sitting  on  twelve  thrones  judging  the  nations  of  the 
world.  Circumcision  and  uncircumcision  were  alike 
without  religious  significance.  The  Greek  was  brother 
of  the  ''Barbarian."  In  the  Roman  Empire  the  asso- 
ciation of  various  nationalities  was  such  as  has  perhaps 
never  been  paralleled  until  our  own  day  in  America. 
Greeks,  Barbarians,  Scythians,  Jews,  Romans,  all,  he 
declared,  were  alike  in  Christ,  whether  bond  or  free,  man 
or  woman. 

The  Jewish  church,  accepting  Jesus  as  the  Messiah, 
but  confining  his  salvation  within  narrow  legalistic 
limits,  could  make  no  large  appeal,  could  win  no  large 
following.  Paul,  discovering  in  faith  in  Jesus  as  the 
Son  and  Revealer  of  God  and  in  fellowship  with  him  a 
way  of  righteousness  that  made  subjection  to  legal 
statutes  superfluous  and  impertinent,  opened  the  door 
of  hope  to  all  nations.  With  him  Christianity  became 
in  hope  and  potentiality  a  world-religion.  Jewish  Chris- 
tianity dwindled  and  perished.  PauHne  Christianity 
conquered,  and  is  still  conquering,  the  world. 

The  mystery-religions  perished.  Paul's  mystery- 
religion,  if  such  it  may  be  called,  triumphed.  It  was 
again  his  freedom  from  local  and  national  rites  and 
ceremonies,  his  insistence  upon  a  monotheistic  spiritual 
and  universal  worship,  and  the  vividness  and  intensity  of 


AT  ROME  219 

his  broad  democratic  conception  of  the  international 
brotherhood  in  the  "Kingdom"  which  outstripped  those 
other  religions. 

This  love  of  totality  breathed  through  his  entire 
missionary  planning.  He  saw  before  his  mind  the 
provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire  and  aimed  to  have  Christ 
preached  to  them  all.  He  could  not  speak  of  a  man  as 
his  first  convert  in  Ephesus  but  as  "the  first-fruits  of 
Asia."  If  a  man  was  converted  in  Athens,  the  name  of 
that  city  is  not  mentioned;  he  was  "the  first-fruits 
of  Achaia."     Distant  Spain  was  not  forgotten. 

The  universaHsm  of  Jesus  was  intensive.  The  uni- 
versaKsm  of  Paul  was  extensive.  Jesus  showed  that  he 
loved  the  world  by  showing  his  love  for  its  dregs,  whether 
publican  or  harlot,  and  for  outsiders,  whether  for  Syro- 
Phoenician  woman  or  Roman  centurion.  The  uni- 
versaHsm of  Jesus  cannot  be  exaggerated.  But  the 
actual  realization  of  it  was  left  to  the  apostle.  Paul  died 
before  he  had  covered  the  geographic  area  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  but  his  immortal  travels  easily  reveal  the  totality 
of  his  purpose. 

Geography  and  astronomic  space  and  ages  of  history- 
seem  to  mingle  together  in  his  far- traveled  spirit.  All 
the  psychologic  categories  are  in  him.  Space  is  there 
with  its  height  and  depth.  Time  is  there  with  its  things 
present  and  things  to  come.  All  possible  conditions  are 
there  between  the  extremes  of  life  and  death,  and  phan- 
tasmal beings  real  and  unreal,  whether  angels  or  prin- 
cipahties  or  powers,  and  even  any  other  new  creation  as 
yet  unknown  (Rom.  8:38,  39). 

And  this  is  the  true  view  for  practical  religion  of  the 
much-discussed  relation  between  Paul  and  Jesus.     He 


2  20  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

who  would  have  the  universal  gospel  in  his  soul  must 
have  Jesus  with  him  in  the  still  air  of  his  studies.  He 
must  live  in  his  closet  and  in  his  place  of  retreat  with  the 
Jesus  of  the  gospels.  But  as  he  starts  out  for  missionary 
service,  as  he  betakes  himself  to  sociological  study  or 
sociological  toil,  as  he  reaches  out  toward  the  blessed 
democracy  of  the  realized  Kingdom  of  God  among  men, 
as  he  aims  to  combine  patriotism  with  the  love  of  man- 
kind, let  him  take  with  him  the  citizen  of  no  mean  city, 
who  made  of  the  simple  Jewish  gospel  concerning  the 
Christ  an  instrument  for  the  bringing  of  salvation  to  men 
of  every  nation,  the  man  who  was  a  debtor  to  Greek  and 
to  Barbarian  so  long  as  any  land  was  unvisited  by  his 
missionary  toil,  the  man  who  must  see  Rome  also.  Let 
him  take  with  him  Paul. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  READING 

1.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  pp.  344-62. 

2.  Kent,  Work  and  Teachings  of  the  Apostles,  pp.  220-23;  231-37. 

3.  Gilbert,  Student's  Life  of  Paul,  pp.  216-32. 

4.  Conybeare  and  Howson,  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  chaps, 
xxiv-xxvii. 

5.  Farrar,  Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  chap.  Ivii. 

6.  Bible  for  Home  and  School,  "Acts,"  pp.  253-58. 

7.  McGiffert,  A  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age, 
pp.  362-423. 

8.  Cone,  Paul  the  Man,  the  Missionary,  and  the  Teacher,  pp. 

144-45- 

9.  Bacon,  The  Story  of  St.  Paul,  pp.  214-26;  298-380. 

ON  IMPRISOl'IMENT  LETTERS 

10.  Burton,  Handbook  of  the  Life  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  pp.  79-100. 

11.  Goodspeed,  Story  of  the  New  Testament,  pp.  35-48. 

12.  Moffatt,  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  New  Testament, 
pp.  149-76. 


APPENDIX  I 
CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE 

Paul's        Roman 
Career       History 

A.D.  A.D. 

14-37  Tiberius  emperor 

26-36  Pilate  procurator  of  Judea 

29  Crucifixion  of  Jesus 

35  Paul's  conversion  (Acts,  chap.  9) 

37-41  Caligula  emperor 

38  Paul  visits  Jerusalem  (Acts  9 :  26) 

38-47  Paul  in  Syria  and  Cilicia 

41-54  Claudius  emperor  (Acts  11 :  28) 

44  Death  of  Herod  Agrippa  I 

46  Relief  visit  to  Jerusalem  (Acts  11:30;   12:25) 

47-48  First  missionary  journey  (Acts,  chaps.  13,  14) 

48  Coimcil  at  Jerusalem  (Gal.  2:1-10;  Acts,  chap.  1 5) 

49-52  Second  missionary  journey  (Acts  15:36 — 18: 22) 

49  Jews  expelled  from  Rome  (Acts  18:2) 

50  (Beginning  of  year)  Paul  reaches  Corinth 

50  Letters  to  Thessalonians 

51  (Summer)  GaUio  becomes  proconsul 

52  Letter  to  Galatians 

52-56  Third  missionary  journey  (Acts  18: 23 — 21:15) 

52-55  Three  years  at  Ephesus 

54-68  Nero  emperor 

55  Letters  to  Corinthians 

56  Epistle  to  Romans 
56  Arrival  at  Jerusalem 

56-58  Imprisonment  at  Caesarea  (Acts  24:27) 

58  Felix  succeeded  by  Festus  (Acts  24:27) 

59  Paul  reaches  Rome  (Acts  28:16) 


222  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 


At  Rome.     Phil.,  Philemon,  Col.,  Eph. 
Neronian  persecution  of  Christians 
Paul's  martyrdom 
Jews  declare  war  on  Rome 
Destruction  of  Jerusalem 

These  dates  agree  essentially  with  Hastings,  Dictionary  of  the 
Bible,  article  on  "Chronology"  (by  Turner),  to  which  the  reader  is 
referred  for  a  full  and  concise  discussion.  See  also,  in  this  volume, 
statement  of  the  dating  of  GaUio's  proconsulship. 


Paul's 
Career 

A.D. 

Roman 
History 

A.D. 

59-61 

61  (or 

64) 

64 

66 

70 

APPENDIX  II 

A  REFERENCE  LIBRARY 

From  the  endless  shelves  of  books  upon  Paul  it  is  difficult  to 
make  a  selection  small  enough  to  avoid  confusion.  This  list 
includes  titles  of  books  mentioned  in  "Supplementary  Reading," 
together  with  a  few  additional  titles  for  more  special  study.  The 
order  of  their  practical  usefulness  in  connection  with  each  chapter 
is  given  under  "Supplementary  Reading." 

THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Bacon,  B.  W.     The  Story  of  St.  Paul,  1904. 

Baring-Gould,  S.    A  Sttidy  of  St.  Paul.    London,  1897. 

Burton,  E.  D.    Handbook  of  the  Life  of  the  Apostle  Paul  (5th  ed.), 

1906. 

.    Records  and  Letters  of  the  Apostolic  Age,  1895. 

Cone,  O.    Paul  the  Man,  the  Missionary,  and  the  Teacher,  1898. 
Conybeare  and  Howson.     Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  (many 

editions). 
Farrar,  F.  W.    Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  1880. 
Gilbert,  G.  H.    Student's  Life  of  Paul,  1899. 

.    A  Short  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  1906. 

Kent,  C.  F.    Work  and  Teachitigs  of  the  Apostles,  19 16. 
McGiflfert,  A.  C.    A  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age 

(2d  ed.),  1910. 
Ramsay,  W.  M.    St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  1896. 
Stalker,  J.    Life  of  St.  Paul,  1889. 
Weizsacker,    C.     The   Apostolic   Age   in   the    Christian    Church 

(2d  ed.),  1899. 
Wood,  Eleanor  D.    Life  and  Ministry  of  Paul  the  Apostle,  191 2. 

Among  the  many  Lives  of  Paul  written  in  popular  conversa- 
tional style  a  recent  good  one  is: 
Mathews,  Basil.    Paul  the  Dauntless  (illustrated).    Revell,  1916. 

For  boys  there  is  a  very  fine  little  sketch  by  Rufus  M.  Jones, 
St.  Paul  the  Hero.    Macmillan,  191 7. 

223 


224  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

INTRODUCTION  TO  LETTERS  OF  PAUL 

Burton,  E.  D.    Handbook  of  the  Life  of  the  Apostle  Patd. 
Gloag,  P.  J.    Introduction  to  the  Pauline  Epistles,  1874. 
Godet,  F.  L.    Introduction  to  the  New  Testament,  1894-99. 
Goodspeed,  E.  J.    Story  of  the  New  Testament,  1916. 
Jiilicher,  A.     Introduction  to  the  New  Testament,  1904. 
Lake,  K.    Earlier  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  (2d.  ed.),  1914. 
Moffatt,  J.    Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  New  Testament, 
1911. 

ON  THE  BOOK  OF  ACTS 

General 

Chase,  F.  H.     The  Credibility  of  the  Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 

1902. 
Harnack,  A.    Acts  of  the  Apostles,  1909. 
.    Luke  the  Physician,  1907. 

Commentaries 

Bible  for  Home  and  School  ("Acts,"  Gilbert,  1908). 
Century  Bible  ("Acts,"  Bartlett,  1901). 
Expositor's  Greek  Testament  ("Acts,"  Knowling,  1900). 
Rackham,  R.  B.     The  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  1901. 

For  detailed  study  of  Paul's  epistles:   International  Critical 
Commentary. 

Paul's  thought  and  teaching 

Bruce,  A.  B.    St.  Paul's  Conception  of  Christianity,  1898. 
Deissmann,  A.    St.  Paul,  a  Study  in  Social  and  Religious  History, 

1912. 
Gardner,  P.    Religious  Experience  of  St.  Paul.    London,  191 1. 
Gould,  E.  P.    Biblical  Theology  of  the  New  Testament,  1900. 
Matheson,  G.    Spiritual  Development  of  St.  Paul,  1890. 
Moffatt,  J.    Paul  and  Paulinism,  1910. 
Ramsay,  W.  M.     The  Teaching  of  Paul  in  Terms  of  ike  Present  Day, 

1913- 
Sabatier,  A.     The  Apostle  Paul  (7th  ed.),  1908. 
Stevens,  G.  B.     The  Pauline  Theology  (2d  ed.),  1911. 


APPENDIX  II  225 

LIFE   IN  THE  GRAECO-ROMAN   WORLD 

Angus,  S.    Environment  of  Early  Christianity,  191 5. 

Arnold,   W.     The   Roman  System  0}  Provincial  Administration 

(2d.  ed.),  1906. 
Case,  S.  J.    Evolution  of  Early  Christianity,  1914. 
Clemen,  C.     Christianity  and  Its  Non-Jewish  Sources,  191 2. 
Cobern,  C.  M.     The  New  Archeological  Discoveries  (popular  style), 

1917. 
Ciimont,  F.    Oriental  Religions  in  Roman  Paganism,  1911. 
Deissmann,  A.    Light  from  the  Ancient  East,  1910. 
Dill,  S.    Roman  Society  from  Nero  to  Marciis  Aurelius,  1905. 
Fowler,  W.  W.    Social  Life  at  Rome  in  the  Age  of  Cicero,  1909. 

-.     The  Religious  Experience  of  the  Roman  People,  1911. 

.     The  Roman  Festivals,  1899. 

Tucker,  T.  G.    Life  in  the  Roman  World  of  Nero  and  St.  Paul,  19 10. 

ON  SPECIAL   SUBJECTS 

Dobschiitz,  E.  v.     Christian  Life  in  the  Primitive  Church. 

Milligan,  G.  Selections  from  the  Greek  Papyri.  Cambridge,  1 910 
(with  translations  and  notes). 

Ramsay,  W.  M.     The  Cities  of  St.  Paul,  1907. 

.    Luke  the  Physician  and  Other  Studies,  1908. 

Hastings,  Dictionary  of  the  Bible  (in  5  vols.).  Articles  on  "Chro- 
nology of  the  New  Testament,"  "Acts,"  "Tarsus,"  "Anti- 
och,"  and  other  cities  of  Paxil's  activity,  on  each  of  the  epistles, 
and  all  minor  subjects. 

Hastings,  Dictionary  of  the  Apostolic  Church  (Vol.  I,  1916). 


APPENDIX  III 
TOPICS  FOR  SPECIAL  STUDY 

It  is  recommended  that  in  connection  with  each  chapter  a 
special  additional  subject  be  taken  up  for  classroom  discussion, 
or  for  a  lecture,  or  for  an  assigned  paper. 

CHAPTER   I 

Papyrus  letters  throwing  light  upon  the  New  Testament: 
Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Ancient  East,  chap,  iii;  Robinson, 
B.  W.,  Biblical  World,  XLIV  (1914)  403  ff. 

Alternative  subject,  The  character  of  the  Roman  emperors 
from  Augustus  to  Nero:  Encyclopaedia  Britannica  or  any  history 
of  Rome. 

CHAPTER  n 

Trustworthiness  of  the  Book  of  Acts:  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the 
Traveller,  pp.  383-90;  Bible  for  Home  and  School,  "Acts,"  pp. 
1-22;  Kent,  Work  and  Teachings  of  the  Apostles,  pp.  1-8;  Chase, 
The  Credibility  of  Acts;  Harnack,  Liike  the  Physician;  Harnack, 
Acts  of  the  Apostles;  Hobart,  Medical  Language  of  St.  Luke. 

Alternative  subject,  Gamaliel:  Baring-Gould;  Hastings. 

CHAPTER   III 

Detailed  comparison  of  the  three  Acts  accounts  of  the  con- 
version:  A  study  of  the  text  of  Acts,  chaps.  9,  22,  and  26. 

Alternative  subje9t,  Chronology  of  life  of  Paul:  Hastings, 
art.  "Chronology";  Burton,  Records  and  Letters,  pp.  201-7; 
Gilbert,  Student'' s  Life  of  Paul,  Appendix. 

CHAPTER  ly 

History  of  Antioch  and  the  Antioch  church:  Hastings,  art. 
"Antioch." 

Alternative  subjects,  Damascus:  Hastings;  CiUcia:  Hastings. 

226 


APPENDIX  III  227 

CHAPTER   V 

Description  of  Cyprus:  Hastings. 

Alternative  subjects,  Geography  of  Asia  Minor:  Ramsay, 
The  Cities  of  St.  Paul.  Draw  a  map  and  trace  the  first  missionary 
journey. 

CHAPTER  VI 

Relation  of  Gal.,  chap.  2,  to  Acts,  chaps.  11  and  15:  Ramsay, 
St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  pp.  40-60,  152-77;  Gilbert,  pp.  87-106; 
McGiffert,  Apostolic  Age,  170-72. 

Alternative  subject:  The  Judaizers  in  Galatia:  Burton, 
Handbook;  also  Hastings,  "Galatians." 

CHAPTER  vu 

The  North  Galatian  Theory  (Gilbert)  and  the  South  Galatian 
theory  (Ramsay). 

Alternative  subjects.  The  life  of  Luke:  Hastings;  Mace- 
donia: Hastings. 

CHAPTER  vin 

Achaia,  Athens,  Corinth:  Hastings. 

Alternative  subjects,  OutHne  analysis  of  the  letters  to  the 
Thessalonians  and  to  the  Galatians:  Burton,  Hastings.  Draw  a 
map  and  trace  the  second  missionary  journey. 

CHAPTER  DC 

Early  Christian  life  at  Corinth  and  Ephesus:  Dobschiitz. 
Alternative  subject,  Hellenistic  reUgions:   Case,  pp.  284-330. 

CHAPTER  X 

Outline  analysis  of  I  and  II  Corinthians:   Burton,  Hastings. 

Alternative  subjects.  Outline  analysis  of  Romans:    Burton, 

Hastings.    Draw  a  map  and  trace  the  third  missionary  journey. 

CHAPTER  XI 

Life  of  Herod  Agrippa  II:  Hastings;  Britannica;  Schiirer, 
History  of  Jewish  People. 

Alternative  subject.  Ancient  navigation:  Smith,  Voyage  and 
Shipwreck  of  St.  Paid. 


228  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

CHAPTER  Xn 

Possible  Ephesian  authorship  of  the  imprisonment  letters: 
B.  W.  Robinson  in  Journal  of  Biblical  Literature,  XXIX  (1910), 
181  flf.;  Hastings  in  Expository  Times,  XXII  (January,  1911), 
148  ff. 

Alternative  subject,  Outline  analysis  of  Philippians,  Philemon, 
Colossians,  Ephesians:  Burton,  Hastings. 


APPENDIX  IV 

OUTLINE  OF  A  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

There  is  no  better  way  of  conserving  the  benefits  of  a  study 
of  Paul's  life  than  by  personally  writing  out  a  biography  of  the 
apostle.  Use  the  New  Testament  references,  the  suggestions  of 
this  volume,  and  the  results  of  supplementary  reading. 

The  following  chapter  headings  are  recommended  as  appro- 
priate for  such  a  study: 

I.  The  Jews  and  the  Jewish  Dispersion 

1.  History  of  the  Jews  in  the  two  centuries  before  Paul 

2.  The  extent  of  the  Dispersion.    Its  liberalism 

3.  The  "devout"  Greeks 

II.  Religious  Condition  of  the  Roman  Empire 

1.  General  social  situation 

2.  The  mystery- reUgions 

3.  Emperor- worship 

III.  The  Preparation  of  the  World  for  Christianity 

1.  PoUtically 

2.  Socially 

3.  ReUgiously 

IV.  Paul's  boyhood 

1.  The  city  of  Tarsus 

2.  Paul's  family 
o)  Jewish 

b)  Roman 

c)  The  name  "  Saul " 

3.  Schooling.    Learning  a  trade 

V.  Paul's  Life  as  a  Jew 

1 .  His  first  view  of  the  Temple 

2.  The  character  of  Gamaliel 

3.  Return  to  Tarsus  and  marriage 

4.  The  noble  side  of  Jewish  religion 

229 


230  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

VI.  Traits  of  Character  Which  Fitted  Paul  for  His  Future 
Work 

1.  Family  and  physical  characteristics 

2.  Contrasts  in  his  personality 

3.  The  thorn  in  the  flesh 

VII.  Influences  Leading  toward  Conversion 

1.  His  religious  nature 

2.  Effect  of  Stephen's  martyrdom 

3.  Persecution  of  Christianity 

VIII.  The  Conversion 

1.  The  story  as  told  in  Paul's  letters 

2.  The  Acts  accounts 

3.  Ananias 

IX.  The  Significance  of  the  Conversion 

1 .  Personal  change  in  Paul 

2.  The  larger  view  of  God's  saving  plans 

3.  Apostleship 

X.  Retirement  after  Conversion 

1.  In  Arabia 

2.  Preaching  in  Damascus  and  escape 

3.  Jerusalem  and  Syria  and  Cilicia 

XL  Paul  at  Antioch 

1 .  Origin  of  Antioch  church 

2.  Why  Barnabas  went  after  Paul 

3.  A  year  with  Barnabas 

4.  Visit  to  Jerusalem 

XII.  The  Campaign  in  Cyprus 

1.  The  consecration  of  Barnabas  and  Paul 

2.  Salamis 

3.  Paphos 

XIII.  The  Gospel  in  Southern  Asia  Minor 

1.  Antioch 

2.  Iconium 

3.  Lystra  and  Derbe 

4.  Map  and  summary  of  first  missionary  journey 


APPENDIX  IV  231 

XIV.  The  Conference  at  Jerusalem 

1 .  Occasion  of  the  conference 

2.  Arguments  of  the  Judaizers 

3.  The  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  apostles 

4.  The  written  report 

XV.  Peter's  Visit  to  Antioch 

1.  Peter's  first  impulse 

2.  His  withdrawal 

3.  The  public  rebuke 

4.  The  decrees 

XVI.  The  Call  to  Macedonia 

1 .  From  Antioch  to  Troas 

2.  The  man  of  Macedonia 

3.  The  "we"  sections  of  Acts 

4.  Experiences  at  Philippi 

XVII.  Thessalonica  and  Beroea 

1.  Importance  of  the  city  of  Thessalonica 

2.  Paul's  work 

a)  As  described  in  I  Thessalonians 

b)  As  narrated  in  Acts 

3.  Departure  from  Thessalonica 

4.  Welcome  in  Beroea 

XVIII.  Athens 

1 .  Object  in  visiting  Athens 

2.  The  unknown  God 

3.  Paul's  address  and  its  effect 

XIX.  Corinth 

1.  Natural  advantages  of  the  city 

2.  Eighteen  months  at  Corinth 

3.  Date  and  character  of  GaUio 

4.  Departure  from  Corinth  and  visit  to  Ephesus 

5.  Map  and  simimary  of  second  missionary  journey 

XX.  Letters  to  the  Thessalonians 

1.  Occasion  of  I  Thessalonians 

2.  Summary  of  contents 

3.  Occasion  of  II  Thessalonians 

4.  Summary  of  contents 


232  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

XXI.  Letter  to  the  Galatians 

1 .  Who  were  the  Galatians  ? 

2.  Occasion  of  the  letter 

3.  Summary  of  contents 

XXII.  Ephesus 

1.  Antioch  to  Ephesus 

2.  The  city  of  Ephesus 

3.  The  disciples  of  John 

4.  The  nature  and  result  of  three  years'  work 

5.  Departure 

XXIII.  Paul's  Correspondence  with  Corinth 

1.  The  Separatist  letter 

2.  Occasion  of  I  Corinthians 

3.  The  denunciatory  letter 

4.  Contents  of  II  Corinthians 

XXIV.  From  Ephesus  to  Jerusalem 

1.  Macedonia 

2.  The  collection 

3.  A  winter  at  Corinth 

4.  From  Corinth  to  Jerusalem 

5.  Map  and  summary  of  the  third  missionary  journey 

XXV.  Epistle  to  the  Romans 

1.  Where  and  when  and  why  written 

2.  Svunmary  and  outUne  of  contents 

XXVI.  Paul  at  Jerusalem  and  Caesarea 

1.  Various  attitudes  toward  Paul's  visit 

2.  His  arrest 

3.  His  speeches  in  self-defense 

4.  Escorted  to  the  governor 

5.  Two  years  at  Caesarea 

XXVII.  Voyage  to  Rome 

1.  Why  Paul  appealed 

2.  The  voyage  and  shipwreck 

3.  Two  years  in  Rome 


APPENDIX  IV 

XXVIII.  Imprisonment  Letters 

1.  Philippians,  occasion  and  content 

2.  Philemon,  occasion  and  content 

3.  Colossians,  occasion  and  content 

4.  Ephesians,  occasion  and  content 
XXIX.  Journey  to  Spain 

1.  Evidences  of  Luke's  third  book 

2.  Itinerary  of  travels 

3.  Pastoral  Epistles 

4.  Death  at  Rome 

XXX.  Paul's  Teaching 

1.  Differences  from  Judaism 

2.  His  thought  of  Christ 

3.  His  achievement 


233 


INDEXES 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS 


Abraham,  9,  55,  94,  105,  146 

Acro-Corinthus,  134,  178 

Acropolis,  30,  130  f. 

Actium,  Battle  of,  1 2 

Acts:   date  of  writing,  i;    sources 

used,     I  f.;      purpose     of,     2; 

speeches  recorded,  3,   82,   132; 

account  of  conference,  98 
Adonis,  132 
Agrippa,  198 

Alexander  of  Ephesus,  162 
Alexander  the  Great,  5  f.,  9,  16,  19, 

25,  113, 124 
Alexandria,  9 
Allegory,  11,  34 
Amazon  women,  151 
America,  23,  63,  216,  218 
Amos,  30 
Amphipolis,  123 
Ananias,  53 

Ananias  (high  priest),  192 
Anthony,  25  f.,  119,  194 
Antioch,  6,  65  fif.;    description  of, 

65;  origin  of  church  in,  66  f. 
Antioch  of  Pisidia,  80  ff.,   115  f., 

149 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  130 
Antiochus  IV,  65 
Aphrodite,  137 
Apollo,  temple  of,  134 
Apollonia,  123 
Apollonius,  26 
Apollos,  154,  167 
Apostle,  Barnabas  so  called,  85 
Apostles,  38, 96  ff.,  102  ff.,  146, 187 
Apostleship,  Paul's  55  f.,  76,  145 
Appeal  to  Rome,  196  ff. 


Aquila,  135,  139,  143,  154,  170, 180 

Arabia,  39;   Paul  in,  59  ff. 

Aratus,  26,  132 

Areopagus,  132  f. 

Aretas,  60 

Arguments  of  Judaizers,  94 

Aristarchus,  199,  210 

Aristophanes,  136 

Aristotle,  19,  130 

Armor,  41 

Arrest  at  Jerusalem,  186  ff. 

Asia,  6,  9,  75,  113,  114  ff. 

Astarte,  137 

Athenodorus,  26 

Athens,  19  f.,  38,  129  ff. 

Attalia,  91 

Attis,  131;  mysteries  of,  17 

Augustus,  12,  20,  23,  26,  80,  86, 

119,  194,  198 
Authorship  of  epistles,  i 

Baptism,  49 

Barnabas,  67  ff.,  76  ff.,  96  f.,  in  f., 

183 
Basket,  escape  in,  61 
Benjamin,  28  f.,  38 
Beroea,  82,  127  f.,  135  f. 
Bithynia,  115,  117,  160 
Books,  burning  of,  158 
Brutus,  119 
Buddhist,  63 

Caesar,  Julius,  20,  119,  133  f. 
Caesarea,  30,  63,  143,  184,  193  ff. 
Caesarea  Philippi,  105,  107 
Caius  of  Rome,  215 
Caligula,  12 


237 


238 


THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 


Cassander,  124 
Cassius,  119 
Catacombs,  203 
Ceremonial  of  the  Jews,  8,  1 2 
Chloe,  165 

Christians:  first  so  called,  69; 
meaning  of  the  name,  69  f. 

Chronology,  138  f.,  196  f.,  221  f. 
Chrysostom,  26 
Cicero,  25,  116,  124 
Cilician  Gates,  6,  26,  90,  113 
Circumcision,  11,  94  f.,  106,  146, 

188,  208 
Claudius,  12,  14,  21,  70,  83,  90, 

121,  13s,  139,  194,  198 
Clement  of  Rome,  213,  215 
Cleopatra,  25,  194 
Collection  for  Jerusalem,  71,  98, 

128,    170,    174  f.,    187  f.,    195; 

purpose  of,  176  f. 
Colossians,    Epistle    to:      207  ff.; 

outline,  209  f.;  genuineness,  212 

Conference  at  Jerusalem,  71,  95  ff., 
145;   later  conference,  187  ff. 

Contrasts  in  Paul,  37  ff. 
Conversion:  preparation  for,  43  ff.; 

vision,    so    ff.;    landscape    of, 

53 
Corinth,  32,  ss,  127,  133  f.,  164; 

second  visit,  165;    factions,  167 

Corinthian  correspondence:  sum- 
mary, 174;  I  Cor.,  164  ff.; 
outHne,  168  f.;  II  Cor.,  173  f.; 
outline,  1 73  f . 

Cornelius,  12,  68,  104 

Coveting,  44  f . 

Crete,  200,  215 

Crispus,  136,  138 

Croesus,  149 

Cybele,  mysteries  of,  17 

Cymbals,  14 

CjTiics,'  16 

Cyprus,  67,  76  ff.,  112  f.,  183  f., 
200 


Damascus,  50,  52,  53  f.,  83,  85, 

138;   Paul's  stay  in,  59  ff. 
Daphne,  65 

Death:  hopelessness  of,  14;  under 
law,  44,  49,  55;  death  of  Paul, 
215  f. 

Decapolis,  7 

Decrees,  loi,  107  f.,  189 

Deification  of  rulers,  19  ff. 

Demetrius,  152,  161 

Derbe,  90,  113  ff. 

Diana,  Temple  of,  151  f.,  154,  156 

Diary,  Luke's,  2,  120,  182,  184, 
199,  201.    See  also  We-sections. 

Diatribe,  17 

Disagreement  of  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas, III  f. 

Dispersion:  Jewish,  9  ff.,  22,  56, 
82,  127,  189,  197;  unity  of, 
10  f.;    liberalism,  11 

Divination,  spirit  of,  120  f. 
Divinities,  132 
Drusilla,  194 

Eating  with  Gentiles,  67  f.,  103  ff. 
Egypt,  7,  9,  19 
Egyptian,  the,  191 
Eleusinian  mysteries,  1 7 
Elijah,  30,  59,  182 
Emperor-worship,  19  ff.,  86 
Epaenetus,  75,  155,  180 
Epaphras,  75,  155,  207,  210 
Epaphroditus,  204  f . 

Ephesians,    Epistle    to:      210  ff.; 

outline,     211  f.;      genuineness, 

212 
Ephesus,   33,   75,    143  ff.,    149  ff., 

183 
Epicureans,  16  f.,  130  f.,  216 
Ethical  thought,  17 
Eusebius,  70, 194,  214  f. 
Exorcism,  157  f. 
Eyesight,  Paul's  39 


INDEX  TO  SUBJECTS 


239 


Face  of  Jesus,  50  f. 

False  brethren,  96 

Famine  at  Jerusalem,  70  f. 

Farewell  at  Miletus,  183 

Fearers  of  God,  11  f.,  57,  81,  120, 

124  f.,  131,  133,  136,  189 
Felix,  194  G. 
Festus,  196  ff. 
Fever,  80 
Fighting  spirit,  41 
First  missionary  journey,  91 
Fulness,  religious,  208  f.,  211 
Fulness  of  time,  21  fl. 
Future  life,  17 

Gaius,  90,  177 

Galatia,  144,     149;      North    and 

South,  114  ff. 
Galatians,  Epistle  to:    32,  41  f., 

61,  96,  99,  115,  144  ff.;  outline, 

14s  f- 
Gallio,  138  f. 
Gamaliel,  31  ff.,  38,  46 
Garden  of  Eden,  203 
Gaza,  6 
Gentiles:  unclean,  12;  attitude  of 

Jews  toward,  igo 
Goad,  43,  48 
Golden  Age,  20,  23 
Gospel  of  Luke,  2,  iq6 
Greek  cities  in  Palestine,  7 
Greek  language,  spread  of,  6,  9,  13 
Greek  Old  Testament,  9,  11,  29 

Hadrian,  83 

Healing  of  cripple,  86 

Hebrew  of  Hebrews,  38 

Hellenistic:  atmosphere,  46;  civi- 
lization, 6  f . 

Hercules,  20 

Herod  the  Great,  30,  38,  65,  193, 
198 

Herodotus,  124 


Hillel,  31,  34,  36,  37 

Hugo,  Victor,  50 

Humanity,    vision   of    redeemed, 

55 

Iconium,  833.,  115  f.,  149 
Idol  meats,  loi,  169 
Illness,  Paul's,  39,  81,  115  f. 
Imprisonment:    at  Ephesus,   159, 

180;    at  Rome,   203.     See  also 

Prison 
Inscription,  31,  78,  132,  135,  139, 

161,  190  f. 
Internationalizing  of  Gospel,  93, 

109,  216  ff. 
Isaiah,  30 

Isis,  16,  132;  mysteries  of,  17  f. 
Issus,  6,  113 

James,  62,  97,  105,  187  f. 

Jason,  126 

Jeremiah,  30 

Jerusalem,  6,  53;   pilgrims  at,  10, 

36;  destruction  of,  191 
Jesus,  26  f.,  32  f.,  34,  48,  50  f.,  59, 

79,   88  ff.,   105,   107,   ig6,   203; 

relation  between  Paul  and,  219 

f.;  universalism  of,  219 
Jewish  religion,  35  ff. 
Jews:  of  Palestine,  6,  21;  struggles 

against  Hellenism,  7;    expelled 

from  Rome,  121,  135,  139 
John,  97 

John,  Gospel  of,  161 
John    the    Baptist,    disciples    of, 

152  ff. 
Jonah,  30,  203 
Jordan,  54 

Josephus,  65,  139,  192 
Judaism,  true  spirit  of,  192 
Judaizers,  93  ff.,  144  ff.,  168,  199  f. 
Jupiter,  87 
Justification,  122 
Justus,  Titus,  136 


240 


THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 


Laodicea,  75;   Epistle  to,  210  ff. 

Law,  Jewish,  29,  31  f.,  37,  82  f.> 
94,  103,  146,  188;  disappoint- 
ment with,  44;  justification 
by,  45 

Legalists,  Christian,  93  ff.,  103  ff., 
187 

Liberalism  of  Dispersion,  1 1 

Livingstone,  David,  76 

Love,  poem  on,  137,  170 

Love-feast,  49 

Lucius,  initiation  of,  18 

Luke:      a     Macedonian,     117  f.; 

his  third  book,  214 
Luther,  59,  147 
Lycaonia,  85,  116 
Lydia,  120,  123,  126 
Lysias,  38,  191  ff. 
Lystra,    42,    853.,    114  ff.,    138, 

146  f. 

Macedonia,  6,  9,  113,  124,  175, 
181;   man  of,  66,  117  f. 

Magic  formulas,  157  f. 

Marcion,  211 

Mark,  John,  72,  76,  in  f.,  210 

Martyrdom  of  Stephen,  46  f. 

Mediterranean  world,  5 

Mercury,  87,  147 

Message,  Paul's,  82,  84 

Messianic  hope,  18  f.,  217  f.; 
of  the  world,  20,  23  f. 

Messianic  kingdom,  9 

Miletus,  150 

Military  language,  15  f. 

Milton,  65 

Mithra,  mysteries  of,  17 

Mnason,  184 

Mohammed,  54 

Monotheism,  17,  37,  216  f. 

Moses,  59 

Muratorian  Canon,  214 

Mystery-religions,  17  ff.,  208,  211, 
218  f. 


Nazareth,  26  f. 

Neapolis,  118 

Nero,  133,  198,  203,  214  f. 

Neronian  persecution,  214 

Nicopolis,  215 

Noachian  prohibitions,  107 

Olympus,  129  f. 
Onesimus,  14,  152,  206,  210 
Origen,  211,  215 
Orosius,  139 
Osiris,  132 

Palestine,  a  highway,  7 

Pallas,  196 

Paphos,  77 

Papyrus,  13  ff.,  123,  141,  157,  161, 
19s 

Paradise,  39,  64 

Passover,  10,  36 

Pastoral  Epistles,  i,  214  f. 

Paul:  contrasts  in  his  nature, 
37  ff.;  as  a  Pharisee,  34;  mar- 
riage, 35;  conversion,  43  ft".; 
largeness  of  his  plans,  74  ff.; 
his  achievement,  216  ff.;  his 
relation  to  Jesus,  219  f.  See 
also  the  Table  of  Contents 

Paulus,  Sergius,  78 

Peace  of  God,  40  f. 

Pentecost,  183 

Perga,  80,  91 

Persecution  of  Christians,  37,  48  ff. 

Personal  work  of  Paul,  156  f. 

Peter,  12,  62,  97,  112,  167,  214; 
at  Antioch,  68,  102  ff. 

Petra,  60 

Pharisee,  Paul  as,  48 

Philemon,  155,  207,  210 

Philemon,  Epistle  to,  206  f. 

Philippi,  118  ff.,  136,  181 

Philippians,  Epistle  to:  123,  204  f.; 
outline,  205  f. 

Philo,  38 


INDEX  TO  SUBJECTS 


241 


Philosophies  of  the  empire,  16  f., 

132 
Phrygia,  85,  114  ff.,  149 

Plan   of  advance,  Paul's,    74  ff., 

219 
Plato,  16,  19,  130 
Pliny,  160 
Political  situation:   of  the  empire, 

12  f.;    of  the  Jews,  21;    of  the 

Dispersion,  22 
Polytheism,  17 
Pompey,  9,  19 

Positive  spirit  of  Christianity,  76  f . 
Prayer,  place  of,  119 
Preparation  for  Christ,  21  ff. 
Priscilla,  135,  139,  143,  154,  170, 

180 
Prison,  38,  40,  122  f. 
Prodigal  son,  15 
Proselyting  activity  of  Jews,  9 
Province,  city  as  key  to,  75 
Ptolemais,  184 

Purifying  of  four  Jews,  187  ff. 
Puteoli,  201 

Rabbi,  Jewish,  29,  31,  33  ff. 

Rabbinic  tradition,  34  f. 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  27 

Rebuke  of  Peter,  106  f.,  145 

Recommendation,  letter  of,  14 

Reconciliation,  15  f. 

Religious  condition:  of  empire, 
23  f.;  of  Jews,  21;  of  Dis- 
persion, 22 

Revelation,  Book  of,  120,  156 

Righteousness,  emphasis  upon,  9, 

218 
Rivals  of  Christianity,  154  f. 
Roman  born,  192 

Roman  citizenship,  13,  28,  32,  38, 
49,  122,  190,  19s 

Roman  colony,  80,  83,  86,  119,  134 

Romans  conquer  Palestine,  9 


Romans,  Epistle  to:  177  ff.;  out- 
line, 179;    chap.  16,  180  f. 

Rome,  two  years  in,  201  ff. 

Sadducees,  193 

Salamis,  77,  82 

Salvation,  popular  meaning  of, 
20  f. 

Sanhedrin,  34  f.,  192 

Sarah  and  Hagar,  34,  147 

Saul,  28;   becomes  "Paul,"  78  f. 

Savonarola,  59 

Savior,  Augustus,  20;  Claudius,  21 

Sceva,  sons  of,  157 

Schools  at  Jerusalem,  31,  34 

Second  missionary  journey,  143  f. 

Seleucia,  66,  76  f. 

Seneca,  38,  138,  203 

Service,  call  to,  43  ff. 

Shammai,  31,  34,  36 

Shipwreck,  200  f. 

Silas,  112,  114,  121  f.,  126  ff.,  131, 
135  f- 

Sister's  son,  Paul's,  193 

Slaves,  14,  16,  207,  210 

Social  condition:  of  empire,  13  ff., 
23;  of  Jews,  21;  of  Dispersion, 
22 

Socrates,  130,  132 

Soldiers,  letters  of,  15  f. 

Sorcerer  at  Paphos,  77  f. 

Sosthenes,  138 

Sources  of  information,  i 

Spain,  33,  75,  178;  probability  of 
journey  to,  213  f. 

Spirit  of  Jesus,  117 

Spiritual  gifts,  169  f. 

Stephanas,  165 

Stephen,  37,  46  ff.,  49,  66,  77,  191 

Stoics,  16,  130  f.,  216 

Stoning  of  Paul,  88  f. 

Strabo,  26 

Suetonius,  70,  135 

Supper,  Lord's,  49,  67,  71 


242 


THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 


Synagogue:  description  of,  lo; 
school,  29;  order  of  service,  81 

Tacitus,  194 

Tarsus,  25  ff.,  32  f.,  46 

Temple  at  Jerusalem,  6  f.,  29  f., 
189 

Temple  inscription,  190 

Tennyson,  44,  47 

Tent-making,  29,  38,  135 

TertuUus,  194 

Theodore  of  Mopsuestia,  26 

Thessalonians:  First  Epistle  to, 
124,  140  f.;  outline,  141; 
Second  Epistle  to,  140  f.;  out- 
line, 142;  genuineness,  142 

Thessalonica,  123  ff.,  135  f. 

Third  heaven,  39 

Thorn  in  the  flesh,  39 

Thucydides,  124 

Tiberius,  12 

Timothy,  86,  95,  114,  127  f.,  131, 
135  f.,  140,  205 

Titus,  96,  171,  173  jBf.,  188 

Titus  (Roman  general),  191 

Toleration,'!i2,  190 


Tongues,  speaking  with,  170 
Travel,  13,  29,  33 
Troas,  1 1 7  f . 
Trophimus,  189  f. 
Tychicus,  206  f.,  210 
Tyrannus,  school  of,  150,  155  f. 

Universalism  of  Paul,  217  ff. 
University  of  Tarsus,  25  f.,  33 
Unknown  God,  132 

Valjean,  Jean,  50 
Ventriloquist,  121 
Vesuvius,  eruption  of,  194 
Virgil,  20,  23 
Vision,  conversion,  50  ff. 
Voyage  to  Rome,  199  f. 

Women  converts,   120,   128,   169, 
180  f. 

We-sections,  2,  117  f.,  181,  196 

Xenophon,  116 
Xerxes,  124 

Zeus,  130 


INDEX  OF  SCRIPTURE  REFERENCES 

Genesis                page                         Acts — (cont.)  page 

17:7 94,146       6:9 37,47 


/  Samuel 
9:1,  2 25 


Chap.  7 46 

7:55-8:1 43 

8:1-3 43 


I  Kings  9:1-19 43 

17:21 182      9:15 43,55 

9:19-25 59 

9:24,  26 61 


Isaiah 


4o:i8ff 217       9:26-30 59 

44:12-20 217      g.27 68 

Ezekiel  ^'  ^ 

Chap.  10 68 

47:12 54  ^ 

10:2 12 

Micah  Chap.  11 98  f. 

6:6-8 36       11:19 77 


Matthew 


12:24. 


II :  19,  20 66 

11:19-26 59 

^       11:20 67 

Mark                              11:27-30 59 

9:20 50      11:30 98 

12:18 193       12:12 77 

12:25 59,71,72 


Luke 


13:1-12 74 


John 
12:29 52 


2:41 32       13:13 79 

9:62 Ill       13:13-52 74 

14:1-6 74 

14:4 85 

14:5 88 

Acts  14:6 85, 116 

1:1 213      14:6-28 74 

Chap.  2 183       14:11 42 

2:9-11 36      14:20 90 

4:36 77      Chap.  IS 98f.,  107,  187 

5:34 25,31       15:1 93 

6:1 71       15:1-35 93 

243 


244                           THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Acis — (cow/.)  Acts — (cont.) 

PAGE  PAGE 

5:2 99       18:24—19:7 149 

5:4 100      18:27 167 

5:5 93       19:1 149 

5:12 100       19:8-20 149 

5:19 loi       19:10 155 

5:23 loi       19:13 157 

5:23-29 loi       19:18 158 

5:29 loi       19:21 33 

5:3s 93       19:21—20:1 149 

5:36 2       19:3s 151  f. 

5:36 — 16:8 Ill       20:1-3 164 

5:39 80       20:3 — 21:16 164 

5:41 64,  113       20:4 90, 126, 128, 181 

6:1 116       20:5 118,181 

6:4 loi       20:5-15 2,118,182 

6:6 114       20:9 182 

6:9-40 Ill       20:15 182 

6:10 117       20:15-35 149,157 

6:10-17 2,118       20:31 87 

6:17 118       20:34,3s 25 

7:1-9 Ill       20:36 87 

7:2 125       Chaps.  21-25 186 

7:4 128       21:1-18 2,118,182 

7:5 190       21:17—23:35 186 

7:7 126       21:18 187 

7:10-15 Ill       21:21 188 

7:12 128       21:24 187!. 

7:16 131       21:25 189 

7:16-34 129       21:29 176 

7:18 130.132       21:38 191 

7:24 13       21:39 25 

7:27 37       22:3 25,29 

7:34 128       22:4,5... 43 

8:1-17 129       22:5-16 43 

8:2 121,139       22:6 51 

8:3 25       22:15.. 43,55 

8:7 136       22:17 62 

8:18-22 129       22:17,18 68 

8:22,23 107       22:17-21 59 

8:23 149       22:20 43 


INDEX  OF  SCRIPTURE  REFERENCES 


245 


Acts — (conl.) 

PAGE 
22:  21 62,  72 

22:27,  28 25 

22:28 25 

23:2 192 

23:16 25,29 

24:1-27 186 

24:10 197 

24:17 195 

24:23 195 

24:24 194 

25:1 — 26:32 186 

25:3 197 

Chap.  26 149 

26:4 25 

26:5 25 

26:6 25 

26:9-11 43 

26: 10 34, 192 

26:11 33 

26: 12-18 43 

26:13 51 

26:14 43 

26:16-18 43.56 

26:17 55 

26: 19,  20 59 

26:28 199 

27: 1 196 

27:1 — 28:14 186 

27: 1 — 28: 16 2,  118, 182 

27:2 127 

28: 15-31 202 

Romans 

Chap.  1 1 79 

Chaps.  1-8 1 79 

1:5 43,51,55,68 

2 : 1 — 3 :  20 179 

3:21 179 

3:21-30 164 

6:3,4 49 


Romans —  (conl.) 

PAGE 

Chap.  7 179  f. 

7:7—8:2 164 

7:7-10 43 

7:14 46 

7:24 43 

7:25 43 

Chap.  8 179 

8:9 40 

8: 18-25 164 

8:31-39 164 

8:37 42 

Chap.  9 180 

Chaps.  9-1 1 179 

Chaps.  12-15 179 

Chap.  15 178, 180 

15:22-33 164 

15:24 33,178,213 

15:24-28 202 

15:25 178 

15:26 176 

15:28 178 

15:30,31 188 

1^5:31 178 

Chap.  16 180 

16:4 159 

16:5 75,155 

16: 13 181 

16:23 177 

/  Corinthians 

Chaps.  1-4 167 

1:1 — 2:5 164 

1:10 — 3:4 168 

i:ii 165  f. 

1:12 167 

1:14 136,  138,177 

i:  14-16 129 

1:16 165 

1:22 167 

1:26 135 


246 


THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 


I  Corinthians — (cont.) 

PAGE 

2.I-S 129 

2:3 25,41 

2:6 25 

3:i»2 129 

3:5-17 168 

3:18—4:16 168 

3:22 167 

4:11-13 .• 149 

4:12 25 

4:17 165, 172 

4:17-21 168 

Chap.  5 168,  172,  213 

5:9 164,172 

5:9-11 165 

5:11 166 

Chap.  6 168 

Chap.  7 169 

7:1 164, 166,  174 

7:8 35 

Chap.  8 169 

lOI 

217 

lOI 

Chap.  9 169 

9:1 33.43,51,55,95 

9:9 34 

9:12 129 

9:22 25,129 

9:24 25 

9:25 25 

9:27 25 

Chap.  10 169 

10:4 135 

11:2-16 169 

Chaps.  11-14 169 

11:17-34 169 

Chap.  12 169 

12:28 170 

Chap.  13 137, 167, 170 

Chap.  14 170 


I  Corinthians — (cont.) 

PAGE 

14:1-25 170 

14:  26-40 170 

Chap.  15 167, 170 

15:8 33,43,51 

i5:8ff 55 

15:9 25,41,43 

15:32 149,151,159 

Chap.  16 170 

16: 1 176 

16: 1,  2 176 

16:2 177 

16:3 177 

16:6 177 

16:8 164, 174 

16:9 159 

16: 10 165, 172 

16: 12 167 

16:15 165 

16: 17 165 

II  Corinthians 

Chaps.  1-7 172, 173 

Chaps.  1-9.  .  ; 171 

1:1—6:13 174 

1:5 163 

1:8 42,159 

1:8,9 149 

1:15,16 164 

1:16 175 

2:4 41,164,172,174 

2:5 172 

2:5-11 172 

2:8 172 

2:9 164,172,174 

2:12,13 164,174,175 

3:6 108 

4:6 43,50 

4:9 41 

6:13 166 

6:14—7:1 166,  173  f. 

Chap.  7 171 


INDEX  OF  SCRIPTURE  REFERENCES 


247 


//  Corinthians — (cont.) 


7:2. 


PAGE 
166 


7:2-16 164,  174 

7:5 174 

7:5-7 164 

7:6 165,172,17s 

7:6-8 175 

7:8 164,  172,   174  f. 

7:9 171 

7:11 164 

7:12 164,  172 

7:16 164,  171 

Chap.  8 174  f- 

8:1 174 

8:2,3 176 

8:6 176 

8:10 174 

8:19 176 

Chap.  9 1 74  f • 

9:1 71,174 

9:2 174,  176 

Chaps.  10-13 4i>  171-74 

10:1,2 93 

10:7 168 

10: 10 87 

11:4 168 

11:5 25,42 

11:8,  9 129 

11:9 123,136,204 

11:13 95, 168 

11:22,23 93, 168 

11:22  ff 33 

11:23 159,  168 

11:23-27 25 

11:23-33 64 

11:25 74, 122,  200 

11:32 60 

11:32,33 59 

11:33 61 

12:2-4 64 

12:2,4 72 


//  Corinthians — (cont.) 

PAGE 

12:4 25 

12:7 25,39 

12:11 25,42 

12:12 95 

12:14 165 

12:18 17s 

13:1 165 

13:1-3 25 

Galatians 

Chaps.  1,2 145 

1:1 95 

1:6,7 93 

1:12 50,61 

1:13 43 

1:13,16,17 50 

1:14 25,34 

1:15 43,51 

1:15-17 43 

1:16 43,55,59,68 

1:16,  17 50 

1:17 25 

1:17,18 59 

1:18, 19 61 

1:18-24 59 

1:18 — 2:1 70 

1:21 64 

1:22 62 

1 :  23 43 

Chap.  2 99, 187 

2:1 64, 98 

2:1-10 59,93,145,188 

2:2 99 

2:6 98 

2:9 "7 

2:10 98, 176 

2:11 112 

2:11-13 68 

2:11  ff 102 

2:11-21 93,145 


248                           THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Galatians — {cont.)  Ephesians 

PAGE  PAGE 

2:13 117      Chap.  1 211 

2:14 106       1:15 211 

2:16 108      Chap.  2 211 

2:19 108      Chap.3 211 

2:20 25      3:1 206 

Chap.3 146      3:2 211 

3:1 116       Chap.4 212 

3:1-9 146      4:1 206 

3:6 93       Chaps.5,6 212 

3:8 93       5:22—6:9 211 

3:10 43,45       ^=" ■ ^5 

3:10-14 146       ^-'3-17 25 

3:15-22 146       ^-^^ 2°^'"^° 

3:16 34,94 


3:18 ••  93 

3:19 34 

3:23 109 

3:23,24 108 

3:23-25 25 

3:23—4:11 146 

3:28 120 

Chap.  4 146 

4: 12-20 147 

4:13 25,39,  115  f.,  144 

4:14 42 

4:15 39 

4:21-31 147 

Chaps.  5,6 147 

5:1-7 93 


Philippians 

1:1-1 1 205 

i:  12-26 205 

1:13 204 

1:17 204 

1:27 — 2:18 205 

1:28 190 

2:19-30 20s 

2 :  26 205 

2:27 204 

3:1 205 

3:2 205 

3:2-11 205 

3:5 25 

3:6 ; 43 

3:12 51 


5:1-12 147  3:12 — 4:1 206 

5:3 45  4:2 120 

5:6 114  4:2-9 206 

5:7 144  4:7 25 

5:13-26 147  4:8 205 

5:16 25  4:10-20 206 

5:22! 170  4:15 129,136,204 

6:1-10 147  4:16 111,123,125,204 

6:11-18 147  4:18 123 


INDEX  OF  SCRIPTURE  REFERENCES 


249 


Philippians —  (conl.) 


PAGE 
206 


4:21-23 

4:22 204 

Colossians 


I,  2 209 

3-8 209 

6,  7 156,  208 

9-23 209 

24-29 209 

1-7 209 

8-23 210 

I — 4:6. . , 210 

18 — 4: 1 211 

7 206-7,  210 

7-18 210 

9 206,  210 

10 199 

12,13 75 

15 75 

16 210  f. 


17 210 

18 206 


/  Thessalonians 


1:1-10. . . . 
1:2 — 2:14. 

1:6 

1:7,8 

1:9 


141 

Ill 

124 

126 

124 

1:9, 10 217 

2:1 

2:if 

2:1-12 

2:2 


126 

124 

141 

121 

125 

2:11 87, 125 

2: 13-16 141 

2:14 1 24, 1 26, 190 

2: 17-20 141 


2:! 


/  Thessalonians — {cont.) 

PAGE 

8 138 

129 

1,2 129, 136 

i-io 141 

6,7 129,13s 

II 138 

11-13 141 

1-12 141 

9 141 

9, 10 126 

13-18 141 

15-17 142 

i-ii 141 

2 142 

8 25 

12-22 141 


23-28 141 

26 143 

//  Thessalonians 


142 

142 

2:2,3 141 

2:13-17 142 

3:1-5 142 

3:6-15 142 

3:8 111,142 

3:11 142 

3:16-18 142 


I  Timothy 


1:1-3. 


//  Timothy 


:i2. 
:i7. 


4:1-22 

4:7 

4:7,8 

4:16, 17 214 


202 
214 
202 

25 

215 


250  THE  LIFE  OF  PAUL 

Titus  Philemon — {cont.) 

PAGE          VXRSE  PAGE 

1:1-5 202  19 207 

3:12,13 202  22 207 

23,24 20 

Philemon 
VERSE  James 

1 206 

2 207,210      2:10 45 

10 206  ^  „ 

I  Peter 
II 207 

13 206       1:1 115 


7lil(lillWlIttl!SfL5?±?^'y  Libran^ 


1    1012  01252  2803 


, 

Date  Due 

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